Acting Steady
by myazeh
Summary: CH. 8 UP! Lily hated boys ogling at her so she asks help from James. James, who also have the same problem with the girls in class, agreed to help her. Their solution? They'll have to act steady for 3 whole months. The plan was fine until James starts to have feelings for her
1. Dumping

A/N: Hi guys! This is my first Lily and James fic so please go easy on me. As per usual, same rules apply: **NO FLAMES**.

I also have other stories (mostly D/HR) so if you guys happen to be a d/hr shipper, feel free to read my other stories.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new fic of mine. Don't forget to **REVIEW**.

Oh, and one more thing… You might find Snape a little OOC but don't worry, he'll get better in later chapters. The following story takes place on their 6th year at Hogwarts.

ENJOY!

Summary: Lily hated boys ogling at her and so she asks help from James. James, who also have the same problem agreed to help her. Their solution? They'll have to act steady for 3 whole months. The plan was fine until James starts to have feelings for her.

* * *

Acting Steady

by: mya14

chapter 1: Dumping

Lily was headed to the Great Hall. It was already lunchtime and she could feel her stomach growling of hunger. She was trying to get to the hall as fast as she could since she missed breakfast that morning due to some errands Professor McGonagall asked her to do. Lily rummaged her bag to check whether she forgot to bring something when someone suddenly grabbed her wrist, causing her to spill her things on the floor. Lily looked up, quite irritated, and came face to face to the last person she wanted to see. She sighed heavily. It was Severus Snape.

"Did you receive my note this morning?" Snape asked, oblivious to the fact that Lily was not very happy to see him.

_"Ugh!"_ she thought disgustedly as she grabbed her spilled things on the floor.

"Have you read it yet?" He asked again, not even bothering to help her pick her books on the floor.

"Yes. I got the letter." She muttered softly. _"That's the very reason why I'm running so late."_ she added to herself.

"So what do you say? When do you wanna go out with me?" Snape asked, point-blank.

Lily plastered a sweet smile on her face and pulled him in a near corner. Lily sighed heavily. This git just never gives up.

"Please Severus… Don't waste your time on me... Didn't you get the message when I dumped you 3 days ago? I'm counting 6 for 6 already. I dump you every month, isn't that obvious enough?"

"Lily, if you just give me a chance to prove that-"

"Look." Lily cut in quickly, "If you really love me then please stop bugging me... All I can offer you is my friendship-"

"but-" Severus tried to explain but Lily butted in yet again.

"Nothing more. Nothing less. Please understand..." Lily pleaded exasperatedly. She quickly turned around and left without looking back.

"I'll only stop, Lily Evans if you're already taken!" Snape called after her but she didn't mind him.

Lily sighed. Sure she was sorry for the guy but sometimes he was just too much. As much as possible, she tried not to hurt him. Almost every tactic she used still wasn't enough for Snape. She tried the "not-so-hurting" approach 3 months ago, then the "my-mum-is-strict" excuse 4 months ago, then the "I-need-time" alibi when he first asked her out.

_"Well, if offering-my friendship trick still doesn't work. I'll physically hurt him!"_ she muttered to herself.

Lily finally reached the Great Hall; it was awfully loud as usual that she had a bit of trouble locating her friends.

"Hey Lily!" James Potter shouted over the noise. "Over here!"

Lily smiled and made her way over their table. James was her best friend. Though Sirius, Remus and Peter were also her best friends, he was closest to her.

She sat in between Remus and Sirius, just right in front of James and Peter.

"So Lily… What's up?" James asked as he put some food on his plate. "What took you so long to get here?"

"It's Snape." she answered as she grabbed all the food she could reach and placed it on her plate until it overflowed.

"Whoa! Calm down, Lily." Remus and Sirius said together. Both were staring at Lily's plate.

"You sure you can finish all that?" Remus asked, surprised.

"Well… actually Remus, No. But I don't have to worry, Sirius is here to eat whatever leftovers I have." Lily said happily as she started to chow her food in fast speed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius said in mock anger.

"Isn't it obvious?" James said jokingly. Sirius glared at him but James just laughed at his expression, he then faced Lily. "So what's the deal with Snape?" he asked. "Is he bothering you again?"

"Oh that..." Lily said as she took another bite on her chicken. "The git is asking me out again. I don't get it. He's starting to get really annoying."

"Actually Lily, he's been annoying ever since. I just don't get why you're only feeling it now." Sirius said with certainty.

"What did you say to him?" James asked again, curious.

"I told him that all I can offer is my friendshi-"

Lily suddenly stopped talking when she felt someone tapping her shoulders. She turned around and looked up. Her face fell yet again. _"Oh no! You got to be kidding me!"_

"Hi Lily!" Amos Diggory greeted, his face blushing furiously.

Sirius, Remus and James snorted.

"Umm… Hello, Amos." she said heavy-heartedly. _"This is so not my day…"_ she thought.

"Umm... Lily, I was just... umm... wondering if… umm…" he stuttered.

"Yes?" she asked, pleading inwardly that the guy won't ask her out.

"If you're free this Saturday... I want you to be with me on the next Hogsmeade trip..." he said slowly and nervously.

Lily turned around and faced James and mouthed, _"Help me!"_

"She's going with me, Amos. Sorry." James butted in loudly.

Lily mouthed a quick 'thank you' to James before facing Amos again. "I'm really sorry. He asked in advance. I can't cancel."

Amos face looked totally sad and disappointed. "I understand… No problem." he smiled sadly at Lily and slowly slumped his way towards his table.

Lily watched Amos moved away before facing James, a bright smile on her face. "You're such a great friend. I love you."

"No problem." he answered, chuckling.

"So he was the guy who kept talking about himself, right?" he asked.

"Yes. He's been really proud about beating you last year in quidditch." Lily said as she finished her food.

"Well Lily, that won't happen again." Sirius, who was the keeper of the Gryffindor quidditch team, promised loudly. "I give you my word. That guy will be crushed! We've trained hard enough to beat that git!"

"And by the way… " James butted in suddenly. "If that Rebecca isn't on their team and wasn't showering me with kisses and charmed hearts, ugh! I've probably would've grabbed the snitch before Diggory, you know!"

"Oh… And speaking of Rebecca…" Lily muttered in a singsong voice. "Here she comes..."

James looked up and saw Rebecca McKinnons, Hufflepuff's resident bitch and chaser, now making her way towards their table. James immediately looked away, feeling miserable as ever.

"Hi James! How are you?" Rebecca asked, seductively.

James just nodded in response. He was sick and tired of Rebecca's tactics and flirty moves. He hated it when girls make the first move on guys. It was just not his style.

"So you're free this Saturday, right?" Rebecca asked while harshly pushing Peter aside and taking his seat.

Peter raised a brow but didn't say anything.

"Well, Actually Rebecca I'm going with Lily." He said, borrowing Lily's excuse.

Rebecca raised a brow at Lily. "Well if you're going with him, how come I heard Snape say that you've agreed to go out with him?"

Lily's eyes widened. "He didn't!"

"Yes, he did." Rebecca said while chuckling softly.

"Don't believe her, Lily." Peter butted in suddenly. "It's obvious that she's lying!"

"How can you be so sure?" Rebecca asked, challengingly.

"Well, if Lily really agreed, Snape wouldn't be sulking over there." Peter answered evenly, his eyes narrowing in anger as he spoke. He then pointed her at Snape's direction. "Now that I've made my point clear. Please leave my seat immediately!"

All of them, including Rebecca stared bewilderedly at Peter.

"I thought you were stupid!" Rebecca said suddenly as she stood up slowly.

"Well… Sorry to disappoint. Now please leave immediately. Thank you." He grabbed his seat, sat down and started to finish his food. Rebecca shrugged and did indeed leave the table.

Sirius was the first to recover. "What's gotten into you?"

"I'm nasty when I'm hungry." He said simply.

"Well... nice to know you have that kind of side." Sirius said as he drank his juice.

Remus checked his watch and stood up. "We better leave. Transfiguration will start in 5 minutes."

All of them followed him, grabbed their bags and went to their next class.

* * *

The Gryffindors usually have Transfiguration class with the Ravenclaws. It was tradition. They had this class with them ever since Lily could remember and to be honest, she really had no problem with the Ravenclaws… well that was until Richard Davies started noticing her and started bugging her the same way Amos and Snape did. He was Ravenclaw's Quidditch Captain and was one of the most popular, good-looking and nicest guys in school. He was perfect. But that wasn't enough for Lily, she just didn't care… or maybe she felt a bit intimidated by him that's why she felt uncomfortable around him.

Lily tried to focus her attention to the blackboard. She felt weird having the Ravenclaws around. She tried to busy herself by copying notes and just forget the fact that Richard was staring at her.

"Hey Lily..." Sirius whispered. "You have a note!" He slowly passed her a small piece of paper and stared quickly at McGonagall, looking innocent.

"Thanks." she whispered back.

She opened the note slowly and noticed immediately Richard Davies' neat scrawl. She rolled her eyes. _"Why can't they leave me alone?"_ she muttered annoyingly to herself.

_Lily,_

_Is it okay for you to meet me tonight?_

_Richard_

She rolled her eyes once again and tore a small piece of paper in her notebook and wrote down.

_Don't you ever give up?_

She folded the piece of paper and handed it to Sirius. "To Richard, please. Thanks!" Sirius slowly got the paper and gave it cautiously to Richard. He got it and immediately responded. He passed the piece of paper again. Lily opened the note and read the content.

_You might think I sound cheesy but I'll never give up on you.__I'll only stop when you find that someone you decide to__share a part of your life with._

Lily folded the note and shuddered. _"Wow. It IS cheesy!"_ she muttered silently to herself. She sighed. _"So… if I'll have a boyfriend, they'll stop bothering me, huh."_

She searched the room for a possible acting boyfriend. Her eyes, as if by fate, suddenly landed on James Potter. Lily smiled slowly. "Oh well… I'll give it a try."

* * *

A/N: And that's about it. Thanks for reading chapter 1. If you read this chapter before, I kind of changed some parts to make bits of it a little descriptive. I hope you like it. Please REVIEW. **No flames**. Thanks!


	2. It begins

A/N: Wow, guys! You're the best! I honestly thought I wouldn't get a single review! But WOW. I was willing to bet 7 reviews max, but thank God for you guys. You really made my day.

I want to thank the ff.:  
WillowRosenburg, Mee!, lama, mooncancer, KV, Liat86, Legolas Lover, YouDontKnowWhoIAm, Dude where's my cheese, Bebe-chrissy, Clearbook, Hanna-chan, MissRock2002, bandage|00013, MeriyA, LoonyLoopyLisa, J'amais, h20grL(2x), , `Millicent, ^.^neon, -nina-, AL, darkfire, someone, hopeless_gal, Surfah, buttercup09, baby eminems, mentallyinsane37

Disclaimer: I missed putting one up last time, I'm sorry. I know. It's been a while since I wrote so yeah. Obviously the characters are not mine. What I own is the plot, capish?

Summary: Lily hated boys ogling at her and so she asks help from James. James, who also have the same problem agreed to help her. Their solution? They'll have to act steady for 3 whole months. The plan was fine until James starts to have feelings for her.

Synopsis: Lily's plan to get rid of the boys who were courting her.

* * *

Chapter 2: It Begins

It was still the same old day, in Transfiguration class, wherein McGonagall just let them copy a lot of notes. Lily was now staring at James from a far. Having a mental debate whether she'll ask help from him or not. She sighed and looked slowly behind her where in Richard Davies was sitting. He was copying notes and caught Lily's gaze. He smiled at her. She quickly turned around and tried to copy notes. _"Transfiguration class sure feels like hell."_ she muttered to herself. She stared at James yet again.

Sirius followed Lily's gaze and chuckled softly. "May I ask why on earth are you staring at James?" he asked.

She immediately left her gaze and stared at Sirius' bright brown eyes. "Nothing." she said simply.

Sirius smiled teasingly at her. "I never knew you had a secret infatuation on James, Lily. That is so unlike you."

"I don't!" Lily said a little loudly.

"Yeah, right!"

"I really don't!" she said honestly.

"Then explain to me in detail why you're staring at James in a very weird way?" Sirius asked, smiling teasingly at her.

She sighed. Sometimes, Sirius can get a little bit tabloid-like. She opened her notebook and handed him Richard's note.

He eyed the piece of paper curiously before taking it. He then opened the note and read the content quietly.

_You might think I sound cheesy but I'll never give up on you._ _I'll only stop when you find that someone you decide to_ _share a part of your life with._

Sirius folded the note and stared questioningly at Lily.

"What?" she asked.

"So… you mean," he started, slowly.

"What?" she asked again.

"The reason you're staring at James is because he's the one you want to share a part of your life with, huh?" he asked, confused.

"No! You totally misunderstood me!" Lily said while snatching the note from Sirius. "Do you think James would agree to be my acting boyfriend if I asked him? I mean just for a short time you know. Just enough for those guys to leave me alone for a while."

Sirius stared at Lily, shocked.

"You're _acting_ boyfriend?" he asked, startled. "Are you sure you're okay? I mean, honestly Lily, I can't believe I'm hearing this from you! ACTING BOYFRIEND? Seriously?"

"Well, I need one right now!" Lily said defensively. "And besides, Snape told me this morning that he won't bother me again if I'm already taken."

"I still can't believe you!" he said in disbelief.

"Deal with it, Sirius." she answered, chuckling too. "And like what you've read, Richard won't bother me if I found that 'special someone'". She sighed. "Do you think James will agree?"

"I dunno... maybe." Sirius said while closing his book. "Well… if you asked _me_ to be your acting boyfriend, I wouldn't mind!"

Lily blushed. "Well, if I asked _you_, I don't think many will believe we're actually steady..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius asked in mock anger.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Sirius, how many girls do you date in a week?" she asked.

"5 or 6… _why_?" he asked.

"Then there's your answer. You're not at all Mr. steady!" Lily said with sureness.

"As if James is steady..."

"He's steadier than you." she said with a laugh. "Keep that up and you'll be a whore soon."

Sirius glared at her. "How dare you!"

Lily laughed. "Just kidding."

"MR. BLACK AND MS. EVANS!" Professor McGonagall called out suddenly.

"_Uh… oh…_" they said together.

"Do you mind sharing with us what you're both discussing in my class?" She asked with a tone of irritation in her voice.

"I... um... we... umm…" Lily started to say but faltered. _"Now what?"_ she thought.

"We were talking about the complex spell you were teaching us earlier." Sirius said with more conviction.

Professor McGonagall stared at Black mistrustfully. "And that spell is...?"

_"I hope Sirius knows what he's saying. I can't remember a thing."_ she thought as she stared at Sirius then to McGonagall's penetrating stare. _"Oh God we're screwed..."_

"_Transmogrify_" Sirius answered. "Well, since Lily didn't get the first part of the lesson, I explained to her the fundamentals. I'm just being a friend. Sorry."

McGonagall stared at them for a moment and her features softened. "Is that so…?"

They both nodded. Professor McGonagall faced Lily. "I presume you understand the lesson now, Ms. Evans."

Lily nodded mutely. _"Is she actually buying it?"_

"Very well, I award Mr. Black 3 points for being considerate enough. It takes a kind soul to teach a fellow classmate, you know."

Sirius and Lily stared flabbergasted at McGonagall. "Now, back to the lesson" she said as she started to teach them about the spell they just copied.

* * *

"Hey Sirius! Lily!" Remus called as he ran his way through the busy crowd. They just finished Transfiguration class. "Have you seen James?"

They both shook their heads. "Why?" they asked at the same time.

Remus sighed. And got a fist full of letters out of his bag. "Another fan mail." he said. "By the way, what were you both talking about in Transfiguration? You guys were kinda noisy, you know?"

Sirius chuckled. "Well, Lily is in need of an acting boyfriend…"

"An _acting_ boyfriend?" Remus asked, confused. "Honestly Lily, You've been hanging around with Sirius too much... You're starting to mess up."

Lily chuckled and Sirius smacked Remus playfully in the head.

"Why on earth do you need an acting boyfriend?" someone behind Lily asked her.

Lily jumped in surprise and quickly spun around to see the speaker. "James! You scared me!"

"Why on earth do you need an acting boyfriend?" he repeated, questioningly.

"Well," She started. "It's the only way I can breathe you know. Snape and Richard promised to leave me alone if I get myself a boyfriend."

"They said that?" he asked.

Lily nodded. "Yeah. They did. Weird, huh?"

"Oh James! Before I forget..." Remus said suddenly, rummaging his bag in the process. "You've got another fan mail, my friend."

"Why do you even bother getting this?" he asked irritated. "I mean, you could've just dumped it somewhere."

"Oh. Well, Some of those letters have curses you know. I'm just the delivery boy, not the garbage boy. Sorry." Remus said, chuckling as he handed the letters to James.

James grudgingly grabbed the letters and put it in his own bag. _"I should've known…"_ he muttered distractedly to himself.

"Well... since we have 1 hour to wait before dinner let's hang around the common room…" Sirius said as he led the way. Lily, Remus and James followed suit.

* * *

Lily, James, Remus and Sirius plopped down altogether on the large sofa in the common room. All of which were now engaged in a little debate about quidditch.

"I'd say Silver armor is the best broom!" James countered as he pointed out the good points of why it was the best. "It actually has everything... and international quidditch teams all uses that!"

"Shooting star is much better!" Sirius butted in. "All the Scotland players purchased it! And c'mon! They're the champion for crying out loud!"

"I don't think so, Sirius... I agree with James!" Lily said. "Silver armor is way better!"

"I think not!" Remus cut in. "I agree with Sirius... it has a superior unbreakable braking spell and is polished by-" he stopped. "Can we help you?" he asked.

Sirius, Lily and James looked up.

_"Oh no!"_ James muttered to himself feeling totally browned off.

"Hi James." Natalie Stewart greeted, her eyes fully focused on James. She tried to move Lily aside and painfully squeezed herself in with them. Lily stood up and sat at the other chair. Sirius and Remus followed her.

"I've missed you..." she whispered in his ear. "I want you to come with me..."

James tried to back away but Natalie continued to go near him. She smiled enticingly at him. "C'mon, James. I've got something to show you."

Lily, Sirius and Remus watched amusedly as James struggled to get free from Natalie.

James looked at them pleadingly and mouthed _"Help me!"_ But neither Lily, Sirius nor Remus knew what to do.

Natalie put her arms around James, but he removed it quickly. Natalie tried again and he continued to elude. She stopped and stared at him. "What is wrong with you?" She asked demandingly.

"Nothing." James answered simply. He stood up and removed her arms gently again.

"Why are you avoiding me?" she asked, her eyes starting to get teary.

"Because I can't breathe. I need some space and I hate girls making the first move." he said honestly.

"But James… if I don't make the first move, you'll never notice me at all..." Natalie said with certainty.

James sighed heavily. _"When will you ever give up?"_ he asked her softly.

Natalie glared at him. "When you finally have a girlfriend way better than me, James. WAY BETTER THAN ME" Natalie said as she stood up. She gave him a peck on the cheek before leaving the common room.

James faced his friends. "Why did you abandon me?" he asked as he sat with them. He looked so tired.

"We didn't know what to do." Remus answered truly.

Sirius chuckled suddenly. Remus, James and Lily stared confusedly at him.

"What is wrong with you?" James asked Sirius.

"Well... Don't you two have the same problem, huh?" Sirius said while pointing at Lily and James. He chuckled again.

"You think?" James answered sarcastically. Lily laughed.

Sirius then signaled Lily to talk to James, and Lily's smile slowly faltered. Lily glared at Sirius. He just grinned back and said, "Go on ask away!"

Lily slowly looked at James. He looked confusedly back at her.

"Umm… James…" Lily started, her heart beating fast as she looked at her best friend straight in the eye.

"What is it, Lily?" he stared at her sparkling green eyes. He felt a bit weird.

"I was just... you know, I'm wondering… if umm... you could... help me with something..." she said unsurely.

Remus and Sirius were staring at them, both hanging on to every word of the conversation.

"Help you in what?"

"Well... um... Since we have the same problem..." she continued. "Well, I was wondering if you could post as my acting boyfriend for a while"

James stared at her, shocked. Whatever he had expected, it definitely wasn't that.

"It's just acting..." Lily said with certainty. "Think about it… No one will bother us for a while if we act steady.."

James thought about it. _"She has a point…"_

"Please, James!" Lily pleaded. "Please? Isn't it embarrassing enough that I'm asking you."

"For how long?" James asked, grinning at the idea of no one bothering him.

She shrugged. She faced Sirius and Remus. "Any ideas?" she asked them.

"A week!" Sirius suggested enthusiastically but Remus cut him off.

"I don't think being together for a week is steady... C'mon!"

"How about a month?" Sirius tried again.

"Longer..." Remus said.

Sirius thought for a while then asked, "How about 3 months?"

Remus faced Lily and James. "3 months. What do you think?"

"3 months of No Snape and No Richard Davies is good enough for me!" Lily said. "Is it okay with you, James? Are you game?"

James smiled at her. "I'm fine with it. Game!"

And so, the deal was set.

* * *

A/N: As always, NO FLAMES! I hope you enjoyed this edited version more. I tried to incorporate more humor in it.


	3. Day ONE

A/N: Thank you again for reviewing! It means a lot when I hear some feedback. Keep it coming!

Dedicated to the ff.: Taffy, AL, Lily Flower, whale girl, bell, Reader4life, brittney, oceansun, Clearbook, deiselbaby, LoonyLoopyLisa, Ohepless Oramtnci, WindRider-Damia, AznGurl, Surfah, ayumi_dono, Sugar_quill, MeriyA, winny [17] (_Whoa! Thanks_), akalea, Amy, PrincessofDarkness, bebe-chrissy, KV, icyfire, Leah, whale girl, reese

Disclaimer: I won't write this in the next chapters .. see chapter 2!

Summary: Lily hated boys ogling at her so she asks help from James. James, who also have the same problem with the girls in class, agreed to help her. Their solution? They'll have to act steady for 3 whole months. The plan was fine until James starts to have feelings for her

Synopsis: James finally agreed to be Lily's acting boyfriend.

* * *

Chapter 3: Day ONE

Lily woke with a start and felt an unexplainable joy. She sat up and glanced at the window. It was just the crack of dawn. She stared at her left and wasn't surprised at all to see that her roommate, Samara Seraph was already up and ready. Among her two roommates, Samara, or Sam as Lily fondly calls her, is the most responsible person she has ever known. She had long, shiny black hair; fair complexion, piercing blue eyes and a slim body.

Lily yawned loudly, stretched her arms and peered at the bed on her right. Her other roommate, Amanda Hayes, who was virtually known as the princess of laziness, was still in her bed, fast asleep. She had light brown hair with little blonde highlights, has medium-brown eyes and was really athletic. She is currently the most valuable chaser in the Gryffindor team and is well known for being able to score more than 50 points for Gryffindor in every game.

"Good morning, Lily!" Samara greeted as she magically fixed her bed.

Lily smiled at her and moved her comforters aside. "Good morning, Sam!"

Samara grabbed Lily's towel for her and handed it to her. "What's gotten into you? You look so happy." She smiled warmly at her.

"Well," Lily started, as she took her towel and slowly got out of bed. "I feel kind of different today."

Samara looked at her thoughtfully, "Different in a good way?"

Lily smiled and made her way to the mirror. "Yeah."

"So, what's new?" Samara asked as she cleverly cast a charm on her hair. "It's been a while since I last saw you genuinely happy."

Lily sat down at the edge of her bed. "Well, nothing really new happened."

"Really? Are you sure?" Samara asked as she twirled her wand and magically fixed her things. She sighed, "For one wild second I thought that maybe you're in love for a change" she giggled. "Or maybe that's just me who's quietly wishing that for you." She grinned.

Lily laughed at the thought. "You really want me to be in love that badly?" Samara grinned and stuck her tongue at her. Lily laughed again feeling elated. She couldn't resist holding the "secret" any longer. She went over to Samara's bed and plopped down next to her.

"What will you do if I told you that I am actually in love right now?" Lily asked, curious.

Samara looked at her hopeful, "I will be super thrilled to death! I will give you makeup and buy you a dress! I've always wanted you to have someone, you know. You always looked so lonely."

Lily stared at her, debating whether to go for the truth or stick to the lie. Samara was after all, one of her closest girl friends.

"Lily, are you okay?" Samara asked while staring at her with concern. "You suddenly spaced out."

Lily smiled slowly; she decided to stick to the lie. She knew Samara couldn't lie. "Well... actually Sam, there _is_ something new…"

"What is it…?" she asked curiously.

"James and I are going out"

Samara stared, speechless. Amanda Hayes gasped, rolled out of bed and then fell on the floor. She woke up just in time to hear the big reveal. She clutched her knee in pain. Both she and Samara had their mouths hanging open.

Lily laughed at their reaction, "What kind of expression is that?!"

The two continued to look dumbfounded so Lily just grinned at them, stuck her tongue at them and went towards the bathroom to get ready.

* * *

James was the first one to wake up and was now totally ready. He already finished fixing everything he needed for that day and was about to wake Sirius up when Remus came out suddenly from the bathroom.

"Hey, James!" Remus began as he started to dress himself up. "What's up with you? How come you're so early?"

James shrugged and made his way to Sirius and started to shake him awake. "Beats me."

Remus hung his towel on the rack and chuckled. "That won't wake him, James. Sirius is a heavy sleeper."

"Wake him, Remus."

Remus got his wand out and muttered _'Rictusempra'_. Sirius became rigid for a second and without warning, he started laughing hysterically.

"Stop... tickling... me, Sam!" Sirius said in-between laughs.

Remus raised an eyebrow and then laughed loudly. James muttered the counter spell and sniggered.

Sirius gently opened his eyes, expecting to see a certain 'someone' but was greeted by Remus' and James' teasing stare. He immediately sat up, horror in his face. "What the hell! What a nightmare! Never mentioned anyone. It's a dream! Don't look at me like that!" Sirius snapped in full defensive mode.

"Aww! Don't be shy!" Remus answered with a laugh. "Give it up, Sirius. She's out of your league. Last I heard she's already betrothed. Her family is very traditional. Not even a pureblood such as yourself can be with her."

Sirius glared at Remus. "Who's asking for your opinion?"

James patted Sirius' back sympathetically. Remus stuck his tongue at him. "I'm just being realistic. I had no idea you liked her!"

The door of their dorm room suddenly opened and Peter entered looking thoroughly confused.

"Where have you been?" Sirius asked, concerned. "What happened to you?"

Peter got his towel and sat on his bed. "I was at the hospital wing…"

"Huh? You were? How come we weren't informed?" James asked as he stared at him concernedly. "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay now…" he answered. "Well, yesterday on my way to the Great Hall, I slipped and banged my head on the floor."

James, Remus and Sirius stared at him with a mixture of pity and worry.

"Don't worry... I'm okay now." Peter said while standing up. "Oh and by the way James… is there something I don't know about Lily?"

"What do you mean?" James asked, confused.

"On the way here, I saw Rachel Pierce, the one with the blonde hair and has a long time crush on you crying her eyes out downstairs…" he said. "And she's been muttering something about Lily…" Peter shrugged.

Sirius stood up and smiled at Peter. "Haven't you heard?"

"What?" he asked, curiously.

Sirius smiled more broadly. "Lily is James' new girlfriend!"

Peter stared, and then blinked, then gasped. "Are you serious?"

Sirius chuckled. "Yeah. That's my name ever since I can remember."

Peter rolled his eyes. "No. Seriously..." he faced James.

"She is," James answered, chuckling at Peter's reaction.

"I can't believe it!" Peter said in awe.

"You better believe it!" Remus piped in.

Peter stared at them for a moment before standing up. "Don't you dare hurt her, James!" he said sternly.

"Of course I won't!" he promised, crossing his heart.

Peter chuckled then entered the bathroom. "By the way, you don't have to wait for me, guys. I'll meet you in the Great Hall" Peter shouted before shutting the bathroom door close.

* * *

James, Remus and Sirius went to the common room. And like what Peter told them, Rachel Pierce was at the far corner of the room crying her eyes out.

Just then Lily came down from the girl's dormitory looking unusually happy. She spotted the marauders and approached them.

"Good morning Sirius, Remus, and James!" she greeted politely. She then scanned the common room and saw Rachel Pierce glaring at her.

"What's her problem?" she asked as they exited the Portrait of the fat lady. "Why is she looking at me like that?"

"Don't mind her, Lily." Remus said soothingly.

"OH NO!" Lily said suddenly as she tried to hide behind James. Richard Davies, Amos Diggory, and a bunch of other guys who we're courting her, incidentally went the same direction as them.

Sirius nudged James and he instinctively put his arms around Lily's shoulder. Lily, on the other hand, placed her arms around James' waist.

Remus and Sirius laughed silently as Richard, Amos and the rest of the guys stopped dead on their tracks and darted their gaze towards Lily and James. They all looked stricken and it was evident even from afar that they were all dying of jealousy. Lily slowly peered at them and felt a little guilty. James softly whispered on her ear not to worry about it.

They finally reached the Great Hall. Lily was still clinging on to James when she suddenly caught a glimpse of Snape's thunder-stricken face.

At this time, Remus and Sirius couldn't hide their laughter anymore and so they laughed out loud.

They reached their table and sat at the empty seats. Natalie's eyes were flaring up. James bent down and whispered something to Lily's ear.

"Hey, Lily. Please don't get mad but I have to do this…" he whispered.

Lily stared at him puzzled and before she knew it, James kissed her softly in the lips. Lily didn't know what to do due to shock. He pulled back and glanced at his right. Natalie Stewart was absolutely seething.

"Sorry, Lily." James grinned, apologetically. He grabbed himself a piece of toast before apologizing again. "I needed to show her that to make her stop." he nodded at Natalie's direction.

"No Problem… I think." Lily said, when she finally recovered. She then chanced a glance at her suitors and she could clearly see Severus Snape, Amos Diggory, Richard Davies, and some other guys glaring at James. She then looked at the Hufflepuff table and saw bunch of girls giving her piercing stares. "_Okay... Snape and the others won't be bothering me but I have a feeling these girls will..."_ she sighed. _"There's no escaping this!_" Lily nibbled the last of her toast and stood up.

"Where you going?" James asked as he stood up too.

Lily glanced around and saw Natalie's eyes flash maliciously at her.

Lily smiled at her, leveled her with a stare, and pointedly gave James a small peck on the cheek.

Natalie was absolutely infuriated and was now stabbing her food angrily with her fork.

"No need to follow me. I'm just gonna get something in the library." Lily whispered and she left the Great Hall laughing inwardly at Natalie's reaction. She checked her watch it read 8:00, Lily quicken her pace and ran towards the staircase. She carefully climbed up the steps when someone suddenly grabbed her wrist, and gently pulled her back down.

Lily was caught off guard. She spun around and came face to face with Richard Davies. Lily looked surprised to see him. "Richard! I didn't see you there. Do you need anything?" she asked, confused.

He looked troubled. "I just… I need some clarification," he said. "I want to know what just happened…" he looked away for a bit, "…are you with…" he couldn't say it.

Lily looked at him closely and she could see in his face an unexplainable expression. She suddenly felt bad. Lily finally realized that Richard was actually pretty serious about his feelings for her. She looked away. Now she felt troubled, too.

"What's the meaning of that?" Richard asked, his eyes suddenly looking at her searchingly. "Please face me," he said quietly. Lily slowly met his gaze. By the way he was looking at her, she knew he was trying to brace himself for the bad news.

Lily slowly pulled her hand out of Richard's grasp and said very quietly, "James and I are now dating," she looked away again, feeling suddenly down. "I really wanted to tell you sooner… but I don't have the courage to hurt you."

Richard stood there speechless for a while.

"I'm sorry," Lily said sincerely. There was a long pause between them. He slowly lifted her face to meet his gaze and he said in a deadly low voice, "Are you sure he's serious about you?"

Lily nodded. She really wanted to get the hell out of there. Richard was making her feel miserable for lying. If it weren't for all the attention they were giving her she wouldn't sink that low and lie to them. "I'm really sorry." she said quietly.

Richard slowly backed away and then left her without a word. Lily stared at his receding back and slowly went her way to the library. She was now having second thoughts, wondering whether the whole acting thing was a good idea. Lily sighed, looked at her watch and immediately quickened her pace. The bell was about to ring and her next class was so far away. She quickly ran her way towards the library, putting Richard Davies on the back of her thoughts.

* * *

A/N: Sorry guys but I have to end it right here. I hope this is descriptive enough for you. As always, please REVIEW! **No Flames**. Sorry if this chapter was a bit lame, or if it looks kinda like a filler chapter. I was feeling down lately, hence, the very corny chapter. Anyway, since I've got the whole thing figured out, I'll try to improve the next chapters. Please keep on reading. Thanks for reviewing.


	4. Suspicions

A/N: Hi people! Thanks again for the reviews! Thanks to you, Acting Steady has finally reached over a hundred reviews! ありがとう。Anyway, sorry about the previous chapter, I was a bit depressed when I wrote it that's why it's a bit cliffy. I hope you guys like the next chapter. Don't forget to Review. **No flames.**

Thanks to:  
Winny, Liat86, whale girl, The Elfin child[3], AznGurl, Elisha, Clearbook, Sugarquill, Chickita, AL, amy, meemee [9] (wow.. thanks..), darkfire, weee~~~(hi issa!), PrincessofDarkness, Lady Ruth, Shaye, ivy, bebe-chrissy, Senna, snowgremlin, QueenofRomance, PVBookworm

Summary:

Lily hated boys ogling at her and so she asks help from James. James, who also have the same problem agreed to help her. Their solution? They'll have to act steady for 3 whole months. The plan was fine until James starts to have feelings for her…

* * *

Chapter 4: Suspicions

It was a bright, sunny day. Perfect for Lily's next class, which was Care of Magical Creatures. Almost everyone was present, including the teacher. Their professor, Professor Kettleburn was a stern looking wizard often compared to the likeness of Professor McGonagall. He was younger than her by a decade but still he looked much older.

Professor Kettleburn was now in the middle of explaining the new lesson (which was Pegasus), when he was disrupted in mid-speech by a very tardy redheaded gryffindor.

"You're late!" Professor Kettleburn said sternly as Lily Evans joined her Care of Magical Creatures class. Her Professor looked at her searchingly from head to toe, obviously waiting for some sort of excuse.

Lily was still out of breath. "I'm… s-sorry… Professor… I w-was… Detained..." she said in between breaths. She was now trying to relax her breathing. Professor Kettleburn glared at her and said in a severe sort of voice. "Ms. Evans, I hope this would be your last tardiness."

Lily nodded solemnly. "Yes, professor. This won't happen again…" she said.

"You better" Professor Kettleburn barked, causing Lily to jump in surprise. He then faced the class again and started explaining how to tame a Pegasus.

Lily made her way towards James and the others. She could feel Snape staring at her from afar. They usually have Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins.

"Who detained you?" James asked as Lily approached them.

"Richard Davies." she said as she caught a glimpse of a raging Snape. Lily stared at him for a moment and realized it was James he was glaring at. James followed Lily's line of sight and smiled at her. "Don't worry. It's me he hates not you".

"Well. It's probably my fault he dislikes you more" she said as she looked away from Snape and stared instead at their Professor who was now teaching them how to ride the Pegasus. "I really don't know what they see in me."

James patted her sympathetically. "got the same problem" he sighed. "It sucks isn't it?"

"Yeah..." she agreed. "Big time!"

"Isn't she pretty?" Sirius blurted out suddenly. His eyes were gazing dazedly somewhere.

Lily looked at Sirius confusedly. He looked like a lovesick wacko. Lily waved a hand in front of his face but he still stared blankly back. "James… What is wrong with Sirius? what's happening to him?"

Remus laughed quietly. "He has a one-sided love affair. Poor guy." he said quietly.

Lily chuckled. "Well, that's a first!" she said knowingly.

Remus sighed dramatically. "Poor guy..." he said again as he pat Sirius sympathetically.

Lily rolled her eyes at Sirius. "Snap out of it Sirius. You're starting to creep me out!" she snapped. He continued to stare dazedly back at them and Lily instinctively kicked him hard in the shins.

"OW!" Sirius shouted suddenly. Lily, Remus and James acted innocent. The whole class turned their gaze at Sirius who was now sitting on the ground and was clutching his leg. Professor Kettleburn immediately approached Sirius and sat down on the floor. "What happened?" their professor asked them worriedly. Remus and James looked at Lily and she shrugged, feeling totally guilty.

"Do you want to go to the hospital wing?" Professor Kettleburn asked gently. He shook his head and continued to clutch his leg. "Are you sure?" the professor asked again, he then scanned the room and by chance, spotted Samara Seraph. "I'll let Ms. Seraph accompany you at the hospi-" Sirius clutched Professor Kettleburn's robe in response, his eyes full of excitement, "Yes professor... I think I should go the hospital wing... it really hurts..." he said as he tried to stand up.

Remus and James chuckled softly but Lily looked confusedly at them. Samara approached Sirius and helped him up. On the look on Sirius' face, it is as though Christmas came early than it should be. Lily then got the picture. "You got to be kidding me!" she exclaimed. Remus and James nodded. Lily shook her head in disbelief. "Poor Sirius!" she muttered quietly.

"Ms. Seraph... please be back as soon as you dropped Sirius in the infirmary" said the professor. Samara nodded and left.

Professor Kettleburn then faced the class. "Now. I'll be pairing all of you and by the end of the period you should tame, ride and let the Pegasus horn glow" He then got a piece of parchment and called out the names. "Bulstrode and Zephyr, Pettigrew and Snape-"

"What?" Severus spat out suddenly as he stared disgustedly at Pettigrew. Peter raised his brow and said evenly; "As if I want to be partnered with you!" he scoffed.

Professor Kettleburn however didn't care whether the students he partnered hated each other. "Firewood and Zabini, Black and Seraph, Lupin and Hayes, Silver and Frost..." the list was very long and when the last pair was announced which was Potter and Evans, everyone felt relieved, well, except Snape of course, who hated James and Lily being a team.

"Pair up now! Quickly, please!" Professor Kettleburn said sternly as he shoved Lupin and Hayes rudely on the side of the room. Amanda Hayes glared at their professor and shoved him rudely too. Remus stood there shocked. He never saw someone push a teacher back. He then grabbed Amanda's wrist and went into the pen to get them out of trouble and to get them a Pegasus.

James and Lily did the same. They got a Pegasus and made their way to a secluded area. Snape, however pushed Peter and the Pegasus to where Lily and James was. He was absolutely scorching. He still couldn't believe they were actually together. He refused to believe it. He knew it was some sort of scheme to get rid of him. But he has to admit; Lily and James' scheme were quite working. It was hurting him. It was hurting him physically, mentally and worst… emotionally.

James and Lily both knew Snape was having second thoughts. They both knew it because of the way Snape kept staring at them. Lily patted the Pegasus slowly and mouthed to James that it was acting time. He nodded and made his way toward Lily.

Snape raised a brow and felt his face burn in rage when he saw James slipping his hands around Lily's waist. For Snape, it was an unbearable torture. He can feel his heart throbbing painfully fast. He wanted to go there and kill Potter but he couldn't move. The pain in his heart was overtaking him.

Lily smiled sweetly at James and hugged him back. James then romantically escorted her and lifted her up the Pegasus.

"_How sweet..._" Snape muttered bitterly to himself. He was still watching them both. His eyes never leaving them for a second. He watched in a huff while they both touched the Pegasus' horn 3 times and it glowed. Snape rolled his eyes. Lily then helped James ride the Pegasus with her and he successfully rode it. James once again wrapped his arms around Lily and she leaned her head on his shoulder. Snape was shaking in fury now.

Professor Kettleburn then approached Lily and James. "Very Good!" he said pleasantly as he jot something down on his piece of parchment. "Full marks!" Lily smiled while James grinned. They both said thank you to their professor before climbing down the Pegasus. Both Lily and James led the Pegasus back to its pen when suddenly they heard a loud bang. They both turned around and saw Peter Pettigrew getting stomped by the Pegasus. Lily ran towards Peter while James tried to calm the Pegasus down.

Peter was knocked down unconscious. Apparently, the Pegasus got him good. He had a huge bruise on his leg and a bump in the head.

Snape just stood there, unmoving. He didn't care about anything anymore. Lily called on to him for help, but he didn't hear her. He just stood there, looking quite broken.

Lily knelt down beside Peter and glared at Snape. "Why didn't you help him?" Lily snapped.

He didn't say anything, his awfully pale face going from broken to its usual emotionless state. Professor Kettleburn once again approached them and muttered. "Mobilicorpus!" The unconscious Peter was then lifted to the ground. He then muttered _"Relaxio!" _to the Pegasus and it magically became calm. He then faced his students. "We will continue this next meeting. You may go now!" The ancient professor now started to magically bring Peter to the hospital wing.

Lily glared at Snape, grabbed James' hand and stormed off. Leaving Snape with his Slytherin friends all alone. In the way she looked at him. His chances on Lily were starting to get really ambiguous. Severus sighed. He guessed that Lily and James were just making a bluff. But now he has a new problem. He just have to make Lily forgive him… but on the looks of it... It looks like it won't be an easy task.

* * *

A/N: Well, there! Severus Snape is still NOT convinced! Hope you liked this chapter. Sorry to keep you all hanging again. Anyway, I might update late after this chapter because of some things I have to do over the weekend. I hope you can wait patiently for me and still review without flaming me. :D

* by the way, this is an edited chapter. I kind of tweaked it a bit since I didn't want my heroine to be a bit shallow. Now she looks just fine. Haha.

**REVIEW PLEASE. NO FLAMES.**


	5. Annoyance and weird feelings

A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews! :) Hope you enjoy this one. (This is an edited chapter so if you read this before, you should read it again. I tweaked almost everything here.)

Thanks to:  
MegHarts, Bella, AL, naimah, AznGurl, Reader4life, amy, tomgirl, lilAngelQT, Sugarquill, x-woman, Ohepelss Oramtnci, hanaku-chan[4], amused[7], Clearbook, MeriyA, bebe-chrissy, barbie_girl_forever, Dude Wheres my Cheese, harrys girl, Pvbookworm, Cataclysmic, CrystalBlue, kirei, Taffy, just jenn

Summary: Lily hated boys ogling at her and so she asks help from James. James, who also have the same problem agreed to help her. Their solution? They'll have to act steady for 3 whole months. The plan was fine until James starts to have feelings for her…

* * *

Chapter 5: Annoyance and weird feelings

Lily, James and Remus were now in the common room. Sitting on one particularly large sofa. Since Professor Kettleburn dismissed them early, they've decided to stay in the common room while they wait for lunch.

James and Remus were both awfully quiet. They knew Lily was still in a time bomb mode so it was best to leave her alone or she might eat them alive. Lily was known to be a kind, gentle person but if things get too much, she can be very scary. James looked at Lily closely. She was still fuming. One of her eyebrows was still raised and she was gritting her teeth, her hands still tightly clenched like a ball.

_"This is not good..."_ James thought as he stared at her. Without thinking he took Lily's hand and gave it a small squeeze. She was slightly startled but didn't mind him. The way James was holding her hand, it's as if it was saying that whatever she was thinking wasn't worth the time. Lily looked up and saw James staring at her and she stared back. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours when James, realizing he was staring at her looked away.

James mentally smacked himself and quickly removed his hands off Lily's. _"What the hell am I doing?"_

"Sorry..." he apologized quickly. He then chanced a glance at Lily and saw her smile slightly at him. He looked at her, startled. He couldn't believe his eyes. _"Did she just smile?"_

"Um… er... Are you okay now?" he asked quietly though deep inside he felt really weird.

"Yeah," Lily answered. "Thanks."

"No problem." James said, grinning.

Lily then stood up quite suddenly, startling both James and Remus. She smacked her head with the palm of her hands as she remembered leaving her bag near the Pegasus pen. "My bag! I left it on the grounds!"

James stood up. "Do you like me to get it for you?" he asked.

"Oh no! You don't have to. I'll get it myself." Lily said while heading to the door. "I'll meet you guys in the great hall"

"Okay sure..." James answered as he watched Lily go out of the portrait of the fat lady.

Remus, however was staring suspiciously at James. He coughed, and James left his gaze off the entrance and stared instead at Remus penetrating gaze. James stared confusedly at Remus. Wondering why he was staring at him like that.

"What's up?" he asked, puzzled. "Why are you looking at me like that? You look creepy!"

Remus shook his head, smirked and then said. "I was just wondering..."

"What?" James asked, still completely lost.

Remus crossed his brows in mock concentration and then asked. "Did you and Lily just have a moment?"

James looked at him weirdly, "A moment? What the hell is 'a moment'?"

Remus looked at him exasperatedly, "I mean, you two were staring at each other, very seriously and all lovey-dovey like. It was kind of awkward, you know, to be caught in the middle of it! I felt like a third wheel!"

James stared at his brown haired friend totally astonished. "No we weren't lovey-dovey like. What the hell! Remus be serious!"

Remus looked at him intensely. "I am serious! It doesn't look acting to me."

"What are you trying to say?" he asked, feeling a bit awkward.

"I'm just curious, James. I couldn't tell if you're just acting or if it was actually real…"

"Acting what? What do you think is real?" James asked again.

Remus frowned slightly. "Don't be so coy, James! Were you just acting earlier or do you really have feelings for Lily?"

James was totally taken aback. His expression was unreadable because of the shock. He felt mixed emotions. He was horrified at the idea of liking Lily. Second, he was surprised that Remus, of all people, felt like he, James Potter has feelings for his best friend. Third, he was worried that Lily, his only girl best friend, might think the same thing as Remus.

"Don't be stupid!" James said seriously. "Lily is my best friend. What I did earlier was a normal act of kindness."

Remus raised his brow questioningly. "Act of kindness?"

"Yeah! I was comforting her!" James said with certainty. "And besides, it's not right to fall for your best friend. Things will get a lot complicated."

Remus then chuckled. "Well, If it was all acting, I have to admit you're a good actor..." he chuckled some more. "You almost fooled me there..."

James grinned. Though inside he was wondering. When he stared at Lily, he was sure he felt nothing. The only reason he was staring at her was that it was the right thing to do. It's more convincing to comfort someone when people look at them straight in the eye. It was the most effective way. And that thing that happened earlier, he thought, was nothing. It was pure comfort, nothing more nothing less. He sighed and felt Remus nudging him.

James looked at Remus questioningly and nodded at the fat lady's direction. He looked at it and saw Natalie Stewart approaching him.

"Er..." James muttered quietly to Remus. "What's up with her?"

"No idea" he whispered back.

Natalie finally approached them. She was wearing thick, black sunglasses and her face was red. Remus and James stared suspiciously at her. She then slowly removed her shades revealing her blood red eyes, obviously from crying.

Remus and James looked stumped. Both didn't know how to react. It was the first time Remus and James actually saw her in distress.

"James," she whispered hoarsely. "It's really not true, right?" She was now shaking. More tears fell from her eyes. "It's really a joke, right? She's only your best friend, right?"

James and Remus looked at each other. Both apparently were too appalled to speak. They both made up their minds. Natalie's case wasn't just a simple crush. Her feelings for him were kind of hardcore.

Another sob escaped Natalie's throat. "It's not real, right?" she asked again. "Answer me!" she demanded.

Remus nudge James and he cleared his throat. "Honestly, Natalie. It's not a joke." he started.

Natalie looked heartbroken and she cried louder.

"Lily and I are going out now... and I'm really serious about her," he continued.

Natalie covered her face with her hands. She couldn't take it. She tried to make herself believe it was just one stupid joke.

"-and it would be really great if you'll let it go now." James added.

Natalie looked up. Tears uncontrollably fell from her eyes. "Is she even serious about you?" she snapped, her voice wavering slightly. "We saw each other yesterday, you could've warned me. How can you be so mean!"

James and Remus looked at each other. They both felt awkward. James looked sympathetically at her. "I'm sorry, Natalie," he said sincerely. "I truly am."

Natalie just nodded and ran off to her dorm room and banged the door. James sighed as she stared at Natalie's dorm room door. He didn't mean to hurt her like that. But if he doesn't do that he'll be the one suffering.

Remus patted James gently. "There's nothing we could do, you know." He said. "Anyway, let's go. Lily's probably waiting for us in the great hall and we still have to visit Sirius and Peter," James sighed, got his bag and he with Remus went to the Great Hall.

* * *

_"Whew"_ Lily said as she finally got her bag. _"Thanks to Snape I lost track of things,"_ she muttered, annoyed. She checked the time. It was already 12:10, if she wanted to visit Peter and Sirius she needs to hurry. Lily was headed toward the entrance hall door when someone called her.

"You're Lily Evans, right?"

Lily turned around to see who the speaker was. "Er, do I know you?" she asked as she looked at the person up and down. The girl was probably 7th year because of the way the girl was holding herself. She had layered light brown hair, fair complexion and piercing blue-green eyes. She was smirking and her brows were raised.

"I don't think you know me, but I know you a lot!" she said, still smirking. "You've been playing with my brother's feeling far too much… and I'll make you suffer!"

"I did not! And who are you?" Lily asked angrily. Lily was starting get really annoyed. No one has the right to judge her, especially if the person doesn't know her.

"I'm Rachel." She said simply. "Rachel Diggory."

_"Great! Another drama ahead!"_ Lily muttered to herself as she looked at Rachel's penetrating stare. "I'm not playing with your brothers feelings for your information" Lily clarified, "I gave him a clear answer. He's the one who is stubborn!"

Rachel scoffed, "If you weren't stringing him along, he wouldn't be so hopeful! You're the one at fault!"

Lily felt her blood boil at her false accusation, "I never gave him anything to be hopeful for. And besides, stop blaming me for your brother's feelings! I never asked for it, okay?" she snapped.

Rachel glared at her and then smirked, "Do you want to know why I don't like you?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "Whatever. I don't need this." She answered as she started to walk away.

"I hate you because you're a liar!" she spat out angrily.

"What are you trying to imply?" Lily asked, irked.

"I know that your relationship with James is fake!" she spat out.

Lily stared at her, shocked. She couldn't believe her ears. She thought she and James were doing a great job. But now…

Lily rolled her eyes and pretended not to hear her. "So this isn't really about your brother, huh?" Lily asked, irritated. This was getting a wee bit personal.

Rachel smiled maliciously. "Am I right?" she insisted, ignoring Lily's comment altogether. "Is the guilt finally sipping through?"

Lily rolled her eyes. That girl was trying to get to her head. She's just challenging her, that's all. "Whatever," she replied simply. "I don't need to prove anything to you. If you have a problem with my relationship with James, why don't you go directly to him and confront him instead of me?"

Rachel raised her brow, her teeth clenched. "I'm not easy to fool you know... I know… it's a bluff! It's quite obvious." She then stepped forward and stopped when Lily and her was a foot away. "If something bad happens to my brother, I'll personally take you out! Bear that in mind." She moved away and gave Lily one last penetrating gaze. "Have a nice day, Lily Evans" with one last smirk, she went inside.

Lily groaned, frustrated. Everything seemed to happen to her. She sighed. She knew she hadn't done anything wrong. And it wasn't her fault if she didn't like Amos or Richard or Snape. She sighed. She needs to talk to James as soon as possible. She has to tell him their acting wasn't working at all. She gave another heavy sigh and slowly went her way towards the great hall feeling twice as worst as she had felt earlier.

* * *

A/N: And that's it, folks! Sorry again for cutting this chapter short. I was a bit out of time. Anyway, watch out for the next chapters. It'll be full of surprises and of course, acting fluffiness. REVIEW PLEASE! NO FLAMES as usual.

If you guys have suggestions or whatever, feel free to suggest anything regarding the story in the review section. I love reading reviews.

じゃね。


	6. Lectures

**Chapter 6: Lectures**

A/N: As always, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! You guys really made my day! I really appreciate all your feedbacks. ありがとうございます。

Anyway, I'm really sorry about the last chapter, so if you read it before, I edited it again to make it much better. I was aiming for a much realistic feel for the characters so I ended up writing more dialogue. So there, I hope you enjoy this chapter, there's not much fluff but at least I updated. I need this chapter to build up for the next. Enjoy!

Thanks to:  
Jesica black, tom girl, moonlit angel, Ohepelss Oramtnci, Alex'z death chic, dark-angel[2], ABC Network is evil, AznGurl, PVBookworm, ginnyNharrysecretlove, Sugarquill, Shaye, angelsflame265, MissRok2002, ria[2], real-angel, AL, The Elfin Child, Marauderz*Tomboi, maxoid, Lily Flower, Taffy, Shinning Crystal

Summary: Lily hated boys ogling at her and so she asks help from James. James, who also have the same problem agreed to help her. Their solution? They'll have to act steady for 3 whole months. The plan was fine until James starts to have feelings for her…

* * *

Chapter 6: Lectures

Lily ran her way to the Great Hall as fast as she could. She needed to deal with the acting problem as soon as possible and let the whole school - even Dumbledore - believe it was real. If kissing James a lot of times would make the whole school shut up and leave her alone, then she'd do it. But of course, she still needed to convince James about it first.

She finally reached the Great Hall and was totally relieved when she saw James and Remus sitting at the very end of the Gryffindor table near the door. She approached them and sat beside Remus, right in front of James.

"What happened to you?" Remus asked, startled. He was looking at her up and down.

Lily looked questioningly at Remus. "Why? Do I look weird to you?"

"You look really haggard," he whispered, grabbing his goblet. "Did your fan club harass you again?"

"Huh?" Lily slowly fixed her hair and fumbled inside her bag for a mirror. She then raised her mirror and inspected her reflection. She sighed. Remus was right. She looked really troubled, "You're right. I look like a mess," she put the mirror back in her bag, grabbed her wand and cast a charm that would make her look better.

"Did something happen?" Remus repeated, concerned.

"Not on the way... but yes, something's up," Lily said as she grabbed herself some food. "Rachel Diggory called me a liar just now and threatened me. Weird, considering I don't even know her."

James choked and Lily instinctively reached for his goblet and gave it to him. She looked confusedly at him and watched as he drank his pumpkin juice.

"What's up with you?" she asked while staring quizzically at him.

Remus coughed and lowered his voice. "James used to go out with her,"

Lily coughed too. "Oh c'mon! Really?" she asked James, shocked.

"Er... yeah…"

"Even if she's a year older?" she asked again, still unable to hide her uneasiness.

James nodded. Lily looked horror-struck for a moment but recovered quickly. "Who ended the relationship first?" Lily demanded.

James looked awkward, "I did." He murmured softly.

Lily looked disbelievingly at him. "You got to be kidding me!" she muttered to herself. Now things were starting to get a little out of hand. Rachel Diggory would really mess them up big time. She could feel it.

"No wonder she hates my guts!" She said quietly. "She hates me because of you and her brother," She sighed heavily. She then lowered her voice and motioned for James and Remus to lean closer to her. Lily looked around before leaning in with them.

"She told me she knew that we were just acting. It didn't fool her."

"She said that?" James said frowning slightly.

"Yeah," Lily said as she moved away and continued to chow her food.

Remus looked at James and Lily for a moment. "But why?"

Lily shrugged. "I have no idea."

Remus sighed and stared at his friends. He was analyzing everything in his head. He was wondering why the rest of the school didn't believe them when he, one of the closest people to them, almost got fooled back in the common room when they were staring at each other. He shuddered as he remembered how awkward it felt to be caught in between. Remus sighed again. "_Maybe I just imagined it,_" he thought to himself.

"er… Remus? Are you okay?" Lily asked concernedly.

He smiled. "Yeah… Don't mind me… Just thinking,"

"So what should we do, then?" James asked as he faced Lily.

Remus shrugged and stared at Lily who was now biting her lower lip in concentration. Lily shrugged too. "I don't know… Treat me as one of your girlfriends, I guess?" she said simply.

James looked thunderstruck. "I can't,"

Lily raised a brow. "Why can't you?"

"I just can't," he said firmly.

Lily rolled her eyes and faced Remus. "Explain,"

Remus chuckled. "Lily! James respects you!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily asked, confused. "Don't tell me he doesn't respect his girlfriends?"

"No!" Remus said while chuckling louder. "What I mean is that he can't do some stuff to you,"

"Why?" Lily asked again. "Stuff like what?"

Remus shook his head, "Lily, it feels weird to explain this to you."

"What do you do with your girlfriends?" Lily asked James suspiciously.

"Er… nothing bad." He answered awkwardly.

Remus chuckled some more. "Lily... Imagine a tamer version of Sirius."

Lily raised a hand to stop him. "Oh, you're talking about something physical!" she said as she shook her head in disbelief. "That IS awkward!"

"Yeah, it's a guy thing." Remus said as he grabbed his bag. He was still chuckling at Lily's reaction.

Lily punched Remus playfully in the arm. "Sorry I asked!" she said as she got her bag too and stood up. "How much time do we have left?" she asked, changing the subject.

James looked at his watch. "We got 45 minutes left before the next class,"

Remus stood up. "Let's go to the hospital wing, then."

James nodded and stood up too. And all 3 of them went out of the Great Hall.

* * *

"Peter! What the hell happened to you?" Sirius asked while he saw Peter being carried magically by their professor.

Professor Kettleburn gently placed Peter on the bed. "He's unconscious right now," he said as he stared at Peter sympathetically.

"What happened?" Sirius asked urgently.

"Got stumped by a Pegasus."

"What?" Sirius asked, surprised.

Professor Kettleburn approached Sirius this time. "How's your leg?"

"It's okay, I think." he answered, inspecting his bruise.

"Good to know, Oh well, I got to get going." he then went towards Madam Poppycock's office and signaled her to check Peter out. He then headed towards the door but stopped abruptly when he was about to exit. "By the way, Mr. Black, you've got a lot of catching up to do."

"Yes, Professor. I'll work on it!"

He then gave Sirius a short nod before leaving the room.

Sirius stared at Peter's unconscious form. Something was up; a Pegasus won't stump Peter on purpose. Peter wasn't really THAT stupid like others judge him to be. Sirius continued to ponder on it when Madame Poppycock suddenly appeared in front of him, startling him out of his thoughts. "How's your leg?" she asked him gently as she approached Peter to check him up.

"Er… it feels better now, I guess…"

Madame Poppycock then checked Peter's arm to see any broken bones. "Your friend here seems to have an unlucky year."

Sirius stared questioningly at her. "What do you mean?"

"Peter is my most frequent patient," she said while checking Peter's head. "-and according to my records, last month, Peter had exactly 30 accidents…"

"30?" Sirius said in disbelief. "How could anyone get injured every damn day for the past month?"

Madam Poppycock looked at Peter sympathetically. "Poor kid… I also wondered the same thing."

There was a small knock on the door and Sirius and Madame Poppycock looked up.

"Is it okay for us to visit Sirius and Peter?" Lily asked as she, followed by Remus and James entered the Infirmary quietly.

Madame Poppycock smiled. "Of course you can." she said, preparing to leave. "Just don't make any unnecessary noise or I would kick you all out. Understood?"

They nodded. She smiled again and entered her office.

Lily plopped down the bed beside Sirius looking serious than ever.

"What's wrong with you?" Sirius asked, confused.

"I feel guilty about kicking you earlier," she whispered.

Sirius smiled. "It's okay… I should be the one thanking you."

Lily stared confusedly at Sirius. "For what?"

"For kicking me!" he answered back, smiling dreamily.

"Huh?"

"Because of you, I spent some time with Samara…"

Lily stared in space for a moment and grinned slowly. "Oh… that!" she laughed. "No problem!"

"Well, anyway..." Sirius said seriously. "What happened to Peter?"

Remus and James immediately darted their gaze to Lily, expecting her to explode. But to their great surprise and relief, all she did was raise a brow. James and Remus sighed, relieved.

"It was Snape." She said in a would-be calm voice. "He was partnered with Peter and he didn't even help him!"

James and Remus shot an alarming stare at Sirius, begging him not to ask further, he quickly understood and didn't pursue the subject.

"So..." Sirius started again, trying to change the topic. "How's your 'acting relationship'?"

Lily, James and Remus looked at each other and sighed heavily at the same time. Sirius stared at them confusedly waiting for them to answer him.

"What?" he asked impatiently. "Don't just sigh on me!"

"Not good…" Lily answered quietly. "Many people aren't convinced!"

"Wh-? Why?"

Lily shrugged. "I really don't know! I really thought we're doing a great job!"

"I thought so, too." Remus chimed in, remembering yet again the thing in the common room.

Sirius stared at them for a moment trying to analyze everything. If the school didn't believe them, the only great solution is to act as if they were really going out 24/7. Non stop. Day and night.

Lily sighed again. "Sirius! Tell us what to do! You're the expert here!"

Sirius looked at Lily weirdly. "Expert? Believe me, this is not my forte!"

"But you have different relationships every week!" Lily said with certainty.

"You should know this!"

Sirius chuckled. "I never encountered this before because I've never been into a 'steady' relationship!" he said matter-of-factly.

"Good point!" Remus said as he chuckled softly.

"Anyway... the solution here is to act as if it's real." Sirius said simply.

"As if it's real…" Lily repeated. "How do we do that?"

Sirius crossed his arms. "Well, you have to act 24/7. Non stop. It's the only way. Treat each other as if you're really in love with one another."

James coughed but didn't say anything.

"And besides," Sirius started. "When you agreed to this acting relationship thing… you know pretty well that you'll do whatever people does in a relationship even if it's for show, right?"

Lily and James nodded slowly.

"And you know too that it includes a lot of kissing, sweet talks, hugs, name calling and stuff, right?"

They nodded again.

"And you know too, that kissing in public is also a part of it, right?"

They nodded slowly, trying to take in everything that Sirius is saying.

"And night time strolling, whether there are people watching or not is a huge part of it, right?"

"Right..." they said softy.

"Frequent dates is also a plus in a relationship!" Sirius added thoughtfully as though he was reminiscing.

Remus was watching James and Lily's stunned faces while Sirius carried on with the relationship lecture. He honestly thought that Lily and James looked good together and was right for each other. Their only problem was the 'best friend' thing. If they weren't best friends, then maybe they're together by now.

"There! That's what you have to do!" Sirius said triumphantly while smiling broadly at them all.

James and Lily just nodded. Both seemed to drift away on their own thoughts, not even noticing that Sirius' relationship lecture was already over.

Remus chuckled. "Hey, Sirius! I thought you don't know this stuff?"

"I don't!" Sirius whispered. "I really don't!"

Remus stared questioningly at him. "Then what's the lecture about?"

Sirius motioned Remus to lean towards him. He eyed Lily and James for a bit and whispered to Remus' ear, "I just want them to do those things! They really should be together in the first place."

Remus stared at Sirius, shocked. "You're setting them up?" he whispered back.

"Yeah!" he said coolly. "And besides, I was just helping them out!"

Remus grinned slowly. _"Sirius sure is unpredictable!"_ he thought as he tried to poke Lily and James out of their thoughts.

"So… what do you think, James?" Remus asked as he watched Lily and James snap out of their thoughts.

"Think of what?" he asked, confused.

Remus grinned. "About the full-time acting relationship and treating Lily as your real girlfriend?"

"I guess I should do it," he said slowly, avoiding Lily's gaze. "Well, I agreed to this acting relationship. So the best I could do is to make it right…"

Lily felt the blood rush in her face.

"Is it okay with you?" James asked Lily quietly while Sirius and Remus both rejoiced inwardly.

Lily looked up and their eyes met. She was ready to take the plunge. And she knew, it was just acting. Lily stared at him for a moment before answering. "Yes, James. It's fine with me."

James then grinned at her and very slowly knelt before her. Lily was taken aback. "Hey, what are you doing?" she asked, flustered.

Remus and Sirius grinned approvingly at James.

James took Lily's hand and said very seriously, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

Lily felt her face getting hot. She seriously felt her heart skip a beat. She wasn't ready for this. He obviously caught her off guard.

James stared at Lily and waited. Lily tried to lighten the mood by chuckling. "You're kind of overdoing it, you know." She muttered.

James laughed, "I know. I'm doing this for the sake of formality. And besides, you're the one who asked me the first time."

Lily blushed, embarrassed.

James then looked seriously at Lily again, "So, will you go out with me, Lily Evans?"

Lily stared at James for a minute, smiled teasingly and said, "Sure, what the hell."

James frowned, "What an answer!"

Lily smiled at him, "I'm kidding, James. Yes. I will."

Remus and Sirius patted them both in the back. "It's a deal" they chorused together.

* * *

A/N: There… Review people! I have to stop here because it's already the 8th page.. it's too long.. -_-' anyway.. thank you for your reviews!

Sorry to keep you guys hanging again. Please REVIEW! **NO FLAMES!** If you also have time, please read my other stories if you like. 'til the next chapter!

じゃね。


	7. And so it begins yet again

A/N: Okay… I know it's been like months since I last updated… and I'm here to apologize. I AM REALLY, REALLY SORRY! I have this huge writer's block and I can't update any of my stories. Anyway, here I am, trying to continue what I have left off. Hope you'll accept my apology and Review! :] Here's chapter 7 for all of you! :] sorry again for the late update. This might turn out as a boring chapter… but well, at least I updated. =)

Thanks to:

The Elfin Child, Dadaiiro[6](thanks 4 reviewing everything!), Ohepelss Oramtnci, tom girl, Annie, Melody, catgoddess13[4], krissy, PVBookworm[2](sorry for letting you wait), Shorti, gymchick1111, Kringa[6], Cathyengeltje, Kaydee[3], dieselbaby, Lily Flower, Sparkle-eyed Dreamer, buttercup09, maxzoid, SummerRain, bebe-chrissy, TheSkyIsOrange, Queen of Romance, meLisSa, Cheeky Girl, prongs, jenna, smartikiss, kewl chick, slytherins-girl, krissy, MARY y OKIDOKI, Misha, KokoAstra, gibberish, DV, Angelisa Snape[4], wei[2], Kitkatkate1988(email), CrystalBallerina, lttlewhitehorse, kat6528, AznGrl2, waltz[2], Issa, PuDdLe Of MuD, smartkiss[7], joi, Araya Arwen, teresaangel, crystaldream611, Daintress, Blabbering, ur # 1 fan[2], skye, CeriCherry, Cherry, lilan goddess, child-of-scorpio, Lucy, Nour, I'm lovin it, sproutygirl, Blabbering, Evil Scratching post, cutecat

Summary: Lily hated boys ogling at her and so she asks help from James. James, who also had quite the same problem agreed to help her. Their solution? They'll have to ACT steady for 3 whole months. The plan was quite fine until James starts to have feelings for her…

* * *

Chapter 7: and so it begins... yet again.

Remus and Sirius both sniggered inwardly. Now this was definitely official. Lily and James had finally accepted to go all out with the whole acting relationship thing. This was not just any ordinary acting… there's going to be a lot of 'physical acting' involved.

They were still in the Hospital wing and Lily and James were both sitting on the edge of Sirius' bed. Both were still looking… well, quite shocked. Apparently, both were thinking that after all the acting, their friendship might lead them to 4 separate directions: One, their friendship might be doomed if things didn't work according to plan. Two, there was a slim possibility that they will, indeed, end up together (which would be really weird, they thought in unison). Three, there's no friendship to go back to after 3 months of being "a couple". And lastly, Four, one of them might fall in love with the other while the other doesn't care.

Both Lily and James sighed heavily. They knew those were the risks they have to live up with, but then, when they really thought about it, all those things can be easily disregarded when a certain Severus Snape, Natalie Stewart, Richard Davies, Rachel Diggory comes to mind. There was no escaping it.

Sirius rolled his eyes. The hospital wing was becoming slightly quiet… and the unbearable silence between Lily and James was starting kill him. Sirius cleared his throat and this caught James and Lily's attention. They slowly looked up.

Sirius looked at Lily and James disbelievingly. "What the hell! Why are you both spacing out? Why aren't you doing anything?"

James and Lily stared at him, confused. "Excuse me?" they said in unison.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "What the hell are you doing?" he said, snappishly. "Aren't you supposed to be holding hands or embracing each other or something?"

James and Lily coughed. They stared at Sirius in disbelief and slowly, Lily and James looked at each other awkwardly.

Remus grinned at Sirius and he grinned right back at him.

Lily sighed. "Fine. I agreed to do this!" she slowly reached for James' hand and slowly entwined her fingers with his. They were now holding hands.

Sirius stared at them looking thoroughly bored. "That's it?" he asked.

Lily cocked her brows at Sirius. "What do you expect us to do? Kiss?" she said, sarcastically.

Sirius' eyes twinkled, challengingly. "Why the hell not?" he said, daringly.

Lily stared at Sirius, astounded. She didn't quite believe he took her sarcastic remark seriously. She glared at Sirius. "I was being sarcastic," she said with certainty. "Just incase you didn't notice,"

Sirius leveled Lily with a stare. "Why, Lily? You can't do it?" he challenged.

"Of course I can!" she said, but then she looked slightly uncomfortable. "But of course I can't do it right now 'coz it's not right."

Remus chuckled as he watched Sirius and Lily's semi-debate. James on the other hand was smiling slightly, obviously amused by the exchange.

Sirius shook his head in disbelief. "C'mon, Lily you agreed!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, Sirius… there's no sense kissing James here… nobody can see us."

"But well, you know pretty well that every now and then, students flock in here, right?" Sirius said as he pointed towards the door and on that exact moment, an injured 5th year student was limping his way towards a bed, moaning in pain.

Lily sighed. "Fine, if it'll make you shut up!"

James eyes widened. Was she actually going to kiss him?

Lily pulled James towards her and kissed him softly in the lips. She pulled back quickly and faced Sirius. "Happy now?" she asked.

Remus and Sirius were grinning from ear to ear. That was the first time they saw James looking both awkward and surprised. Sirius then looked at Lily and gave her a thumbs up. "Very." He said, grinning.

Lily sat down on the bed and chanced a glanced at James. He slowly looked at her and their eyes met.

"Sorry." She whispered.

James looked at her searchingly, his finger slowly touching his lips. "Sorry for what?" he asked.

Lily looked slightly uncomfortable, "for kissing you…"

James grinned, teasingly. "Don't be sorry… we're going out, I can handle it."

Lily laughed and playfully punched him in the arm. She hugged him in a best friendly manner. "Thank you for agreeing to do this." She whispered.

James grinned at his best friend. "Anything for you!" he replied as he hugged her back.

Remus and Sirius were now stumped. They slowly looked at each other, both looking confused. They then glance back at them.

Sirius closed his eyes and opened it slowly. He slowly looked at Remus. "Uh, is it just me? Or am I imagining this all?" he asked.

Remus looked at Sirius. "You tell me, are they having another moment?" he asked, feeling confused again. "Is this acting?"

Sirius slowly turned his gaze back at Lily and James. He shrugged and decided they probably were playing them. "Maybe."

Lily and James pulled back and they smiled. James slowly entwined his fingers with Lily's and both of them stood up. They faced Sirius and Remus.

"So Remus," James called as he grabbed his bag. "Are you going to accompany me and my _girlfriend_ to Charms?"

Lily laughed and both Sirius and Remus stared at each other. Now they understood, they were played by them. It was all acting.

Remus grabbed his bag. "Well, Sirius, We should be going." He patted him on the back and waved.

Sirius nodded. "See you guys later!"

"Bye, Sirius!" they said together.

Sirius grinned at James. "Take good care of your girlfriend!" he called as they exited the door.

James looked back and smiled at Sirius. "Sure will." with a final nod, they went to their Charms classroom.

* * *

They finally arrived in their classroom and everyone in class were already seating in their respective seats. Lily, James and Remus then settled themselves in the only vacant seats available… the ones located at the back of the room.

James, who was unaware that some of their classmates were actually staring at him, was now being an all out gentleman, helping Lily every now and then and smiling sweetly at her… It was starting to dawn on their classmates that James was really treating Lily like his girlfriend. Majority of the class were convinced that it was real. Remus noticed this; he smiled inwardly as he watched his friend do everything in his power to act all mushy.

Due to this new development, people around them started gossiping. They pretty much thought it was real, making bunch of the girls in class either jealous of Lily or they were more enamored of James since he was being such a gentleman and all. There was an impact. The plan was now working pretty smoothly.

Unbeknownst to them, Natalie Stewart was there. Her eyes not leaving the 'so called, couple' even for a second. She was angry, and her stares were malicious.

Natalie's eyes flashed yet again of jealousy. She hated Lily; she hated her for stealing James from her. She clenched her hands tightly; she had cried a lot earlier and made a vow to get James back whatever it takes. It was really unfair. Lily was supposed to be James' friend and it'll remain that way. But then, they just needed to ruin it all.

Lily mirrored James' smile. She stared at him lovingly and hugged him as he whispered something in her ears. She then giggled and bent down to whisper something in his ear.

Natalie fumed. She was now looking at them bitterly. She was now fighting the urge to slap Lily and not to mention… to rub that sickening sweet smile off James' face. They were acting all sweet and it really made her sick. Natalie gritted her teeth and looked away. There was no describing it, she felt really enraged.

James slowly chanced a glance at Natalie. He smiled as he noticed that she wasn't looking at them anymore. _Thank God_, he thought. Natalie's stare could really break ice.

He then faced Lily, smiled at her and then pulled her chair for her. Lily giggled and graciously thanked him. He then sat beside her. Remus then followed James and sat beside him. He was grinning at them both, "Good Job, guys!" he whispered.

Lily and James laughed. Truth be told, they were kind of having fun with it.

Professor Flitwick then entered their classroom and instantly, the whole room became quietly still. Their Professor smiled warmly at them and placed his stuff on the table.

Their lesson turned out to be about a very complex charm, the _Alluring Charm._ It was said to be very useful. Well, useful as a self-protecting charm. The whole class listened and not one of them spoke. This simple, yet complex Charm was actually very interesting in theory… It was a tempting charm… it makes a person rather attracted to the one who casted the spell.

Well… too bad for them, they were going to have their wands on some other time. Professor Flitwick then pointed out that since not everyone was there, he'd rather teach it when Sirius and Peter returns… And so, for the remaining time… they just discussed the charm and well, copied a lot of notes.

By the time they were done copying, classes were finally over. Lily, Remus and James exited together and headed towards the hospital wing. Their next class, which was supposed to be Herbology was now a vacant class… their Professor, which was Professor Burgeon was on an emergency leave and there was no available substitute teacher.

They finally reached the hospital wing and to their great surprise, Samara Seraph was there, giving Sirius his school bag which she forgot to give back earlier when she accompanied him. Lily, James and Remus slowly approached them.

"Hey, Sam!"

She looked up and smiled at them. "Hello" she greeted back. She then grabbed her bag and courteously bowed at them (a traditional gesture that they were still not used to). Samara then patted Sirius gently, causing him to beam brightly. "Well, my task here is done. I better go." she said gently.

Sirius sat up from bed, the beam in his face instantly fading. "You can stay if you want!" he said hurriedly.

Samara smiled at him but she shook her head. "I'd really love to but I have loads to do."

Sirius looked totally put off but then, he beamed yet again when she smiled at him.

"Well then, Bye. And get well soon." She then faced Lily and did the same. She then waved a hand at James and Remus and with that, she exited the hospital wing, gently closing the door.

Sirius sighed. "She really doesn't like me." He said sadly.

Remus patted Sirius sympathetically at the back. "I agree. She totally doesn't like you. I can tell." He sighed. "I'm sorry; Sirius but there is no hope."

James and Lily nodded in agreement. And both looked down on the floor.

Sirius rolled his eyes, feeling twice as miserable as he felt earlier. "Wow. Thanks for the comfort!" he said sarcastically. "I was actually expecting something like 'nah! Maybe she'll like you too, Sirius' but no, you really HAD to be honest. Thanks a bunch!"

James, Lily and Remus grinned, apologetic.

"Well," Lily started as she sat beside Sirius. "There's no point getting your hopes up. And for crying out loud, pick somebody else! I'm sure a lot of girls out there are willing to be your girlfriend."

Remus and James nodded.

"Samara's too good for you." Remus said, knowingly.

Sirius sighed. "Fine, fine, I get the picture." He said. "So anyway, let's change the topic, what happened in Charms? Did you do what I said?"

Lily and James nodded.

Remus grinned. "It worked like a charm. Everyone actually believed it!"

Sirius grinned. "Good!" He then got out of bed and grabbed his things. "Let's go!"

Lily pulled Sirius back in bed. "Wait a minute! You can't just leave the hospital wing!" she said severely.

Sirius shrugged and slowly limped his way towards Madame Poppycock's office.

Few minutes later he wasn't limping at all and his bruise was healed. Sirius grinned. "Let's go! I can go!"

"Where are we going?" Lily, James and Remus asked in chorus.

"In the common room of course," he said as he went towards Peter's bed to check up on him. "We still have a date to fix."

"A date? Whose date?" Lily asked, confused.

Sirius rolled his eyes as he slowly patted Peter's unconscious form. He then faced Lily. "Your date!" he said, disbelievingly.

"Well then, let's go!" And with that, Sirius left the hospital wing, Lily, James and Remus followed suit.

They were now in the slightly busy common room, seating in their usual sofa. Lily, Remus, Sirius and James were now having a serious conversation about where to date.

"Well, where do you usually bring your girlfriends?" Lily asked James.

James paused for a while. "Uh, it's different with every girl." He said simply.

Lily cocked her brows. "Like how different could it be?"

Remus chuckled. "Well, Lily. It depends on the girl's interests. For example when Rachel Diggory and James were dating… James brought her on a flying date… we all know Rachel loves quidditch, right?" he explained.

Lily nodded slowly. "I see."

"Well then," Sirius started, "Why don't we have a double date?"

Lily coughed. "Double date? Who are you going with?" she asked, curious.

"No, not me! Remus will accompany you." Sirius said while flashing Remus a large grin. "Believe me, you don't want to watch ME date… I have other plans tonight"

Remus was totally taken aback. "Me? Why me? C'mon Sirius, You know I have no plans to date…" he said in disbelief. He paused for a while and then added, "And besides, I don't have anyone to date."

Sirius chuckled loudly. "That could be fixed." He then scanned the common room and at that exact moment, Amanda Hayes entered the room holding her broomstick. She just finished practicing her new tactics for the next quidditch match.

Sirius grinned at Remus and stood up. "Hey Amanda! Remus wanted me to ask you if you're free tonight!"

Remus cheeks turned beet red. "Believe me I didn't-"

Sirius placed his arms around Amanda's shoulder and slowly led her towards the sofa. "Don't listen to him, Amanda. He's just shy."

Remus was now tensed up. Lily and James laughed softly as they watched Remus continuous flustering. He really felt embarrassed and was, well, not used to that.

Lily patted Remus gently. "Don't worry, Remus… We will be there." She teased.

Amanda eyed Remus slowly and then gazed at Lily. "So you mean, a double date?"

Sirius nodded enthusiastically. "It is actually." He said, "So what do you say?"

Amanda thought about it for a while and then nodded. "Sure. I got nothing to do anyways."

Sirius clapped his hands. "Then it's fixed."

Amanda then nodded. "Well then, Lily, just tell me the time. See you all later!" She then turned around and quickly went up to her dorm room.

Sirius grinned at Remus. "Well, now you have a date." He said, grinning.

"How could you do this to me, Sirius?" Remus said in disbelief. "That's the 2nd time you did that!"

Sirius laughed. "Well, the first time I did you enjoyed it, right?"

"But this is different!" Remus explained. "Amanda and I have nothing in common."

"C'mon, Remus. I know you like her," Sirius said with certainty. "There's a saying about 'the more you hate, the more you love'!"

Remus sighed, dejected. "I don't hate her, but I don't care either." he said, quietly.

"Well, whatever. You're there as a chaperone." Sirius said, changing the subject. "Now plan the date James. It's your date."

James glanced at Lily. "Well, I heard Richard Davies and Amos Diggory will be at the lake later, well according to my sources, they'll be talking about something important."

Lily looked worriedly back. "What could they be talking about?"

James shrugged and then looked at Lily straight in the eye. He then sat in front of Lily, and held her hand in a romantic way.

Lily stared at him quizzically. What the heck is he doing?

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to have a midnight stroll with me… Will you go on a date with me tonight?" James said in a serious manner. He was staring at her deeply and it slightly scared Lily. The way James was looking… well, it could pass as being _real_.

Lily mentally smacked herself and looked back at him. It can't be… she knew it was acting. _"It IS acting!"_ she said firmly to herself. She then smiled at him and nodded. Now she understood why a lot of girls were dying to have just one date with James. He was truly a gentleman… and his eyes could melt ice.

He then smiled back at her. But then their eye contact was interrupted when they heard someone storming out of the room. They both looked up and saw Natalie Stewart. She was glaring at them, she went up to her room and banged the door.

Sirius and Remus both stared at Lily and James and they both shrugged.

Lily and James both sighed but then disregarded the whole thing. Lily helped James up and hugged him. Well, people might disagree about them being together… but well, whatever it takes… she will make this plan work. She then felt James wrapping his arms around her as well. She smiled inwardly and stared at Sirius and Remus.

They gave them a thumbs up.

So this was definitely a start… and there was no turning back. Their full-time acting relationship had already begun.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for leaving you hanging again! Sorry if this chapter is kind of boring. The reason for the very long update is due to some major changes in the chapter. To tell you the truth, I wrote a lot about the alluring charm, and how I placed the characters in a very sticky situation but changed it midway so I could maybe save it for later.

On another note, I also had writer's block and no matter what I do, I can't seem to get out of it. Anyway, if you have any comments and suggestions feel free to leave a review. **No flames.**

Last but not the least, if you wanna know what's been happening to me and my stories, visit my profile. I usually update it regularly.

Once again, sorry for the grammatical errors and stuff, English is not my native tongue. I just do this for the practice and of course, for the fun of it.

'til the next chapter!

じゃね。


	8. First Date

A/N: I'm back! It's been like years! Sorry for not updating soon. My real life got so hectic I have no time for anything else. Anyway, here's another chapter. I hope you'll like it. I haven't written anything for ages so this might be a bit rough on the edges. Enjoy. Please leave me a review. **No Flames!**

Thanks to:

Kita(2), Rosey-Dosey, Anmylica, SilverCrystal Tears, cinderella200, Cherry, Slytherin Huntress, Queenofrootloops, aizuhime, PinayAko, Rose13, TamPhuoc, krissyfz, Smiley Mary, Clearbrook, Ti –THE RANDOM CRITIC, SummerRainForever, geckaclark(2), Fanficaddict. Babbling, Swishy Willow Wand, Potterishotter, MeriyA, Potter, angelsflame265, Laurie Broden, Lillianna Rose, TheSkyIsOrange325, Sia, crystaldreams611, Sunny Sammy, Night Tinker Bell, Lady Farevay, Flame of Desire, -Artjuice-, Anonymous Marauder, ciannah, shmokey-bear, summersgirl2526, Rob-girl, Thorn Wilde, essie, thestaganddoe

Summary: Lily hated boys ogling at her and so she asks help from James. James, who also have the same problem agreed to help her. Their solution? They'll have to act steady for 3 whole months. The plan was fine until James starts to have feelings for her…

* * *

**Chapter 8: First Date**

"Oh my God, Lily! What are you going to wear?" Samara Seraph shrieked in panic, tossing every piece of clothing she owns in Lily's bed. Among the two dorm mates, Samara was the most ecstatic of all. She had been dreaming of this day ever since they all became friends.

Lily and Amanda just stared at Samara as she walked past them back and forth, tossing clothes, makeup, and jewelry in a pile in their beds. "Oh no! I can't believe this! We didn't even get to shop for both of you!" she grumbled. "I don't know if my stuff is good enough! I can't believe you guys don't have anything presentable for a date!"

"Sam! Calm down!" Lily pleaded. "You're kind of scaring us!"

Samara ignored them and bombarded Amanda's closet. She shrieked loudly as she tossed sweatpants after sweatpants on the floor. "What's this?!" she demanded, "Amanda! Don't you have anything that isn't pants?!"

"Er, no." Amanda answered quietly. "All I have are pants and shirts. Sorry."

Samara dashed once again to her closet and grabbed some pieces that would fit Amanda. Lily sighed heavily. There's no stopping her. She looked absolutely crazed. She continued mumbling to herself as she matched some of her clothes to the ones Lily owns. She wasn't satisfied at the results though, so she pushed half of the pile in Lily's bed to the floor.

"This isn't working at all!" she growled in frustration. Samara tossed another batch of clothes in Amanda's bed and started matching again. When she didn't find anything again, she threw the clothes on the floor like a crazy person. Lily stood up, grabbed Samara on the shoulder and shook her hard. "Hey, Sam! Snap out of it!" she yelled. Samara ignored her and continued freaking out. She couldn't stop. She expertly maneuvered her way out of Lily's grasp and continued moving around the room compulsively. Lily sighed and decided to give her friend a big wake up call. She rolled her sleeves up to her elbow, readied herself just as Samara was about to walk in front of her and then without warning, slapped her hard on the face.

Samara staggered and was dumbfounded for a bit. The slap seemed to work since she started breathing evenly again and her eyes weren't overly frenzied anymore.

"Are you okay now? Are you back?" Lily asked worriedly. Samara has an obsessive-compulsive disorder. She tends to overcompensate stuff and repetitively do things in order to lessen unwelcomed thoughts or compulsive fears. Lily usually saves Samara from having an anxiety attack. It goes hand in hand with her OCD.

"Yeah. Right. I needed that" Samara stuttered, composing herself. She seemed to have recovered a bit; she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, calming her jagged nerves. Lily helped Samara up and escorted her to her bed.

"Look" Lily started, facing Samara. "You don't have to fuss about this. I'll just wear what I usually wear. James knows me very well so he wouldn't care about my appearance."

Samara frowned, "Please don't say that!" she pouted. "Even if he doesn't care, you should at least dress up a bit!"

Lily sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I'll let you fix our hair and makeup."

Samara looked hopeful and looked at Amanda searchingly. She sighed heavily in response and nodded glumly. Amanda wasn't the biggest fan of makeup but she agreed nonetheless to make Samara happy.

Samara smiled brightly at them, took out her wand and started working on them.

* * *

James was now pacing back and forth in his dorm room, feeling nervous. This was weird considering he never felt nervous on a date before.

Sirius chuckled as he watched James' pacing. "This is a first." He observed, "You're nervous aren't you?" he teased.

"No, I'm not!" James said, throwing his pillow at him. "Stop making things up!"

Sirius chuckled more loudly, "You're so in denial."

"Shut up, Sirius! You're not helping" James muttered, ruffling his already messed up hair. He stopped pacing for a bit and looked at his best friend very seriously, causing Sirius to stop laughing immediately.

Sirius looked at James weirdly, "What's with that look?" he asked.

James sighed, "I'm not sure I can do this." He answered truthfully.

Sirius stared in disbelief, "Are you thinking about bailing out?" he demanded.

James looked torn but didn't say anything. Truth be told, he felt really weird. He never thought going out with Lily would feel really awkward. He felt like he was crossing some sort of line… like he's going out with his sister or something.

James sighed heavily. "I shouldn't have agreed to this. What if Lily expects too much? I haven't prepared anything special!" He was angry with himself for being so cocky earlier.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Why are you so worked up about this anyway?" he asked, "It's not like you've never hanged out with Lily before. You've always been together!" he paused, "well, not 'together together' but still… it'll be like old times, you hanging out and you adding some lovey dovey stuff."

James rolled his eyes at Sirius, "I can't believe you're giving me dating advice right now!" he muttered in disbelief.

Sirius chuckled, "I can't believe you're considering ditching Lily! That's pathetic, man!" he answered.

"I never said I'd ditch!" James said defensively.

"Yeah, but your body language tells me otherwise!" Sirius countered. "You promised Lily! She'll hate you if you ditch her, even if it's all 'acting'."

"I never said I was ditching!" James repeated exasperatedly.

Sirius ignored him, "Yeah. Whatever! It's hard talking to you when you're acting like such a chick!"

James threw another pillow at him but Sirius caught it and threw it right back.

"Look, James! You promised you'd go through with this!" Sirius reminded, "I know I told you to make it LOOK real but that doesn't mean you need to fall in love with her!"

Remus coughed loudly as he entered the room. He looked at Sirius pointedly and he glared right back at him in response. He knew Sirius was bluffing. In all honesty, he REALLY wanted James to fall in love with Lily. That's the sole reason he suggested the whole acting 24/7 thing on them.

"Do you think I look okay wearing this?" Remus asked, uncertain. He hasn't been on a date in ages. He couldn't even remember the last time he did, due to personal, unresolved lunar issues.

James and Sirius both stared at Remus approvingly.

Remus looked quite good for the date. He chose to wear a casual muggle outfit: simple, intricately gratified white shirt underneath an elegantly cut, black tweed jacket.

"Nice choice!" James complimented.

Remus grinned, "Thanks." He answered back, "Are you ready?"

James looked at him, unsure. Remus patted him on the back. "James, just chill out, okay? You and Lily always have fun together!" Remus said with certainty, "Don't dwell too much about it and just hang out!"

"Yeah, James! Just have fun with it!" Sirius added.

"Yeah. You're right!" James agreed, feeling browned off for feeling that way in the first place. He grabbed his lumber jacket and fixed his statement shirt. Remus watched him as he wore his jacket. James then faced Sirius, "So what are you up to tonight?"

Sirius smiled sinisterly, "I'm going out tonight, too."

Remus and James stared questioningly at him.

"Where?" James asked suspiciously.

Sirius sniggered, "It's for me to know and you to find out!"

Remus rolled his eyes, "Are you having a date with some random girl again?" he asked accusingly.

Sirius glared in mock anger, "Is that how you see me, Remus?"

"Am I right?" Remus challenged.

Sirius ignored him and tried changing the subject. "So are you guys set?"

Remus punched Sirius in the arm for ignoring him. "What are you up to, Sirius?" he demanded.

Sirius raised his hands in surrender, "Nothing. Nothing!" he pressed.

Remus looked at him disbelievingly. He knew Sirius so well he could almost see the cogs moving in his head. "If you're planning some sort of scheme, just drop it!" Remus warned, "Your plans always backfire anyway."

James glared at Sirius suspiciously too. "Don't mess this up, Sirius!"

"I won't!" Sirius answered firmly, "You guys are just paranoid!"

"No we're not!" Remus answered, "It's just that we know you too well."

"I'm not going to screw anything up!" Sirius said exasperatedly. "If I do plan to do something, it will benefit both of you, not the other way around!"

Remus and James sighed heavily. So he was REALLY planning to do something.

"For the love of everything holy, please don't do anything!" Remus pleaded fervently.

"I won't do anything out of line." Sirius said with finality.

Remus glared at Sirius. "SEE? You're really planning to do something!" he pointed out.

Sirius smirked, "Believe whatever you want," He replied, grinning. He got up from his bed, opened the door and shoved Remus and James out of the room. "It's no fun arguing with you, it's time to enjoy your dates!"

Remus and James started to reason with Sirius again but he banged the door right at their faces.

"That was rude." Remus muttered silently. "Oh well, we'll just have to handle it if Sirius goes overboard."

James rolled his eyes and led the way towards the stairs, "He always goes overboard! Why does he always like to complicate stuff?" he asked tiredly.

Remus shrugged, "Maybe he doesn't want to be left out." He guessed.

They finally reached the Gryffindor common room and waited near the fireplace. They had the common room by themselves since everyone was in the Great Hall having dinner. They settled on a particularly large sofa that faced the staircase of the girl's dorm rooms.

James and Remus decided to wait in silence. Both were apparently reeling inside but were too embarrassed to admit it. Remus in particular, was freaking out despite the cool vibe he was airing. He never had a date in years. The last date he had ended really badly so he decided to never date again. Remus sighed heavily in defeat, wondering how Sirius can manipulate him so easily.

The door of the girl's dorms opened and they heard footsteps from upstairs.

James stood up as he saw Samara climbing down the stairs exuberantly. She was beaming at them as she approached them, "You guys ready?" she asked.

Both guys nodded and waited as they saw Amanda descend down the steps. Remus stared bewilderedly at Amanda as he saw her looking all girly and neat. She had her hair down for the first time and retired her trademark ponytail. She looked uncomfortable as she approached Remus.

"Sorry about the whole getup" she muttered defensively, she was obviously not fond of her outfit, "It's all Sam's idea, I can't argue with her or she'll go crazy on me." She was wearing a very cute, dark blue, crew-neck mini dress with a bias seam on the drop waist and a draped, ruched overlay at the skirt. She looked really cute in Remus' opinion.

"It looks good on you," Remus said, embarrassed. She blushed scarlet and thanked him quietly.

Samara beamed at Remus' reaction, "I told you so!" she pointed out smugly at Amanda, "You should believe my judgment!"

James looked up anxiously as he waited for Lily. He watched as he saw her descend down the steps. James decided that if Lily looked just a tiny bit uncomfortable, he would call off everything: the date and the whole acting deal. He'd rather have girls clinging on him than feeling uncomfortable around Lily. He'll do everything to save their years of friendship.

James inspected Lily up and down and was taken aback to see her smiling happily back, not a hint of unease in her face. Lily grinned at him when she noticed him staring at her. At the sight of Lily's unworried face, all of James' worries about the date going badly all went out the window. James smiled in relief. He felt really stupid for fretting about the whole date thing earlier. He approached Lily, smiling warmly at her. He noticed she looked really pretty. A fact he never noticed before.

Lily looked at James expectantly, but James didn't notice this and just carried on smiling. Lily cleared her throat and looked at James closely, "Aren't you disappointed with what I'm wearing?" she finally asked, bursting the bubble.

James looked at Lily's getup; she was wearing a cute statement shirt, a jean skirt, scarf, a hoodie jacket and sneakers – very casual – exactly his kind of style.

Lily looked at James' outfit, "I mean, I didn't dress up like I should… Is this okay?" she asked worriedly.

Samara suddenly appeared, fired up. "Tell her to change, James!" she pleaded, hopeful. Apparently, Lily rejected all the clothes Samara suggested earlier. "That outfit she's wearing now is totally NOT appropriate for a date!" she declared dramatically, "I tried to let her dress up a bit but she just let me do her hair and makeup! So unfair!"

James chuckled, "It's okay, Samara. I really like what she's wearing now. It kind of matches with mine to be honest." He then showed Lily the shirt underneath his jacket – a stylized statement shirt. Lily laughed at the coincidence. Samara bowed her head in defeat.

"So where are we heading?" Lily asked, excitedly.

James grinned, "We'll first go to Hogsmeade for dinner then we'll just go with the flow afterwards." He explained.

"Sounds like a plan! Let's go!" Lily said with glee.

* * *

All four of them are now seated on a reserved room at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop at Hogsmeade. It was the only room in the shop where there's no frilly decorations, heart shaped themed cups and no golden cherubs flying around. Remus and Amanda chose the seats near the door (so as not to disturb Lily and James) and were now wrapped up in deep conversation. James and Lily on the other hand, decided to settle by the window.

Lily scanned the room in wonder. To be honest, when she found herself standing in front of the sappy looking teashop, she was absolutely skeptical.

She wasn't really the biggest fan of the place since the whole 'mushy' vibe of it really turned her off.

James watched Lily knowingly, "I know what you're thinking." he said, teasing. "You thought I'd let you eat dinner in a room full of mushy crap, didn't you?"

Lily laughed, "No, I didn't!" she said unconvincingly.

James laughed at her obvious cover up, "Admit it!"

Lily stuck her tongue at him. She never thought her reactions were that obvious, "Well, for starters," Lily countered, "I've avoided this place my entire life, okay? So just imagine how I felt when I thought you'd let those annoying cherubs sprinkle me with love!" she said, laughing. "Never expected there's a safe zone here."

James laughed again, "This safe room is limited to Madam Puddifoot's club members. My family has been a member for years." He explained. "She's a friend of my mum. I invited you here because the food and tea here are excellent!"

Lily looked out the window for a bit, "So, you bring a lot of girls here I suppose?" she asked, curious. She always wondered how James could get the girls he wanted without making any effort. She looked at him, waiting.

James raised his brow teasingly, "You jealous?" he asked, laughing.

Lily rolled her eyes, "You wish," she answered in mock anger. "Don't flatter yourself much!"

James laughed, "Don't worry, Lily. You're the first one here. I can't just bring anyone here, you know. Puddifoot might rat me out to my mum if I brought every single girl I dated here. That would be a disaster!"

"You don't mind Puddifoot ratting ME out to your mom?" Lily asked, amused.

"I don't mind" James answered truthfully, "First off, you're not just SOME girl I met Lily, you're my friend so it's safe." He smiled. "And besides, you have all the qualities my mum wants for my so called 'potential partner' so that's another plus for me." He winked. "Don't worry about it." He added, teasing.

Lily coughed, "Your mom has some sort of 'requirement' for your girlfriend?" she asked, shocked. "Is that a pureblood thing?"

James chuckled, "Don't worry about it! The whole requirement thing is for my future wife to worry about. It's not like we're getting married." He grabbed the menu and tapped his wand on a drawing of gingermint tea. A set of cups and a boiling hot pot magically appeared in front of them. "My mum's not like Sirius' mum. She's not into the whole pureblood aristocracy or whatever. What she's after are certain qualities, or so she says, I don't know."

Lily watched as the teapot magically poured itself into the cups. "Have you ever introduced anyone to your mum, yet?" she asked.

James shook his head, "No. I don't think I'm ready for that kind of drama."

Lily looked a bit concerned, "What if Puddifoot says something about me to your mum and wants to meet me? What are we going to do?" she asked.

James considered it for a moment, then looked at Lily thoughtfully, "Then I'll just let you two meet," he said.

Lily stared at James, shocked. "Are you serious!?" she exclaimed, mouthing the part "we're not even dating for real, what are you thinking!" so as not to let Amanda hear their secret deal.

James laughed at her reaction, "You do realize that's just a hypothetical question, right?" he said, amused. "The probability for that to happen is really slim, Lily. Breathe!"

Lily still looked a bit concerned, "But still… I can't believe you're just going to let me meet her if ever that happens for real!" she said in disbelief, "Acting or not, that's a lot of pressure!"

James smiled at her warmly, "If by some weird twist of fate you two were to meet because of me, just be yourself. You don't have to pretend for my sake, you know." He said matter-of-factly. "So enough about me. Any requirements I should know about with your parents?" he asked, jokingly.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Don't be stupid!"

James chuckled, "You don't want them to know about me yet?" he teased.

Lily playfully punched James' arm in response.

Remus and Amanda looked at Lily and James approvingly from where they sat. They've been observing the couple ever since.

"Looks like they're having a lot fun" Amanda observed, smiling.

Remus agreed. "I never saw James that happy with anyone before."

Amanda nodded in agreement, "You know, I've been wondering for a long time why they never hooked up before." She said, honestly. "I'm so glad they're together now. Lily never really looked at anyone after Adam. That had us worried for a while 'coz she never talks about it."

Remus chanced a glance at Lily as he remembered their days with Adam. He was Lily's boyfriend 2 years ago. They dated for a year and were inseparable. Adam Bradley was the most popular guy in school during his time. He just graduated last year and was now a member of the Heidelberg Harriers quidditch team. He was also last year's Head Boy and the former Quidditch captain of the Gryffindor's team. No one really knew why or how Lily and Adam broke up. Some guessed that maybe it was due to the 2-years age difference. They dated when Lily was a 4th year and he was a 6th year.

Amanda sighed, "I always thought she never got over him. Thank goodness I'm wrong!" she said in relief, "I just wished James asked Lily out sooner!"

"Do you know why they broke up?" Remus asked point-blank.

Amanda shook her head, "No idea. She never shared anything. She just came to us one day and said, "we broke up" and then she never talked about it again." She sighed dramatically, "Lily acted all fine the entire time but she was downright depressed. She just didn't show it to anyone. She even tried to fake cheerfulness to our face!"

Remus felt really bad. He didn't know Lily was depressed during that time. She acted so normal with him that he didn't even bother asking her how she was or anything.

"Do you think Adam and Lily still talk to this day?" Remus asked, curious. "I mean, I don't want some sort of drama mixed in now that Lily and James are finally together." He explained.

Amanda looked thoughtfully at him but shook her head in response, "Like I said, she never talks about him at all."

Remus paused for a bit and stared again at his friend. Amanda noticed Remus' worried face, "Look," she started, "If I find out anything about Lily and Adam, I'll let you know." She promised. "The reason I'm here is to keep an eye on her." She grinned, apologetic. "No offense." She added.

Remus chuckled in reply, "None taken. I was not planning to ask you out, either." He said truthfully.

Amanda laughed, "I know," she smiled widely at him, "Sirius got you good this time. I'm sorry he picked me for you." She stuck her tongue at him. "I don't see you as the dating type."

Remus raised a brow at her, "You're not the dating type, either." He countered jokingly.

Amanda smiled. "I guess that's the only common thing we will ever find between us." She said.

Remus looked at her, intrigued, "Enlighten me," he challenged, "Why do you say that?"

Amanda leveled him with a stare, "Well, first off I'm the athletic type," she looked Remus up and down, "and you're so… obviously not."

"Agreed," Remus said, "But that doesn't say much."

"You're a bookworm," Amanda countered, "You're always studying and you're always following teachers like a puppy."

Remus frowned a little, "Like a puppy?"

Amanda nodded, "You always do what you're told."

Remus looked questioningly at her, "And that's a bad thing?" he asked.

Amanda shook her head, "No. That's just it. It's so unnatural. You're too kind!" she explained, "I don't think you're normal."

Remus laughed, "So in a nutshell, since we're not the same, you're saying that you hate studying, you dislike teachers and you don't care about other people… am I right?" He asked.

Amanda nodded, "In short, I'm like a Slytherin and you're like… too good. I don't know." She said. "The only reason I'm enjoying school is because of quidditch. Other than that, I'm not interested."

Remus looked at her sincerely, "You think too highly of me," he muttered, embarrassed. "I'm not even half of the things you've said. Although I admit I'm a boring guy."

Amanda looked at him alarmed, "I never said you're boring." She muttered quickly, defensively.

Remus laughed, "I'm the one who said I'm boring," he clarified. "Anyway, I hope you're not bored talking to me"

Amanda smiled, "Surprisingly, I'm not bored… yet."

Remus chuckled, "Let the boring talks begin." He said, teasing.

Lily and James chanced a glance at Remus and Amanda. They we're surprisingly engaged in a very serious conversation.

James smiled at Lily, "I guess they're finally getting along," he observed.

Lily nodded in agreement. "At least they're making progress. I guess we should move along and talk, too." She said.

James took a sip in his cup and placed it gently on the table, "What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

Lily shrugged, "I don't know. Are there things I should know about you? Like weird hobbies or a list of psychotic exes you have?" she said jokingly.

James laughed, "Weird hobbies?" he asked, "Where did that come from?"

Lily laughed, too. "I don't know. What do you want to talk about then?" she asked.

James paused for a bit and then smiled, "I guess the exes part is a nice topic,"

Lily perked up a bit, "Go ahead then." She said.

"Okay," James agreed. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "Just so you know, I never reveal personal things on a first date but since it's you… here goes…" He paused for dramatic effect. Lily rolled her eyes.

"I've had 2 serious girlfriends." James confessed. "The first one doesn't go to our school but we've been together for a year."

Lily looked impressed, "Wow. Who is she? Do I know her?"

James nodded, "You've met her once when you visited my house 2 years ago."

"Huh? I don't remember meeting any girl…" Lily started but halted mid-sentence when she remembered, "Oh my God, are you talking about Crystal Moreau?" Lily asked, surprised.

James grinned, "Yes. We were together when you and Sirius came to visit me."

Lily was still processing the news. She couldn't believe her ears. Aside from being James' childhood friend, Crystal Moreau was well known for being the brightest and prettiest girl in Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.

James laughed at Lily's expression, "Why do you look so shocked?" he asked, "I'm not sure if I should be offended by your reaction"

"What the hell happened? Why aren't you together anymore?" Lily demanded.

Lily and Crystal hit it off the moment they met. Lily's respect for Crystal was kind of idol-like (though she'll never admit that information to James ever).

James shrugged, "Well, long distance relationship doesn't really work," he answered casually, "and besides, she wanted to keep our relationship a secret. Not to mention she was getting a lot clingy to the point of suffocation. We're better off as friends. She's with someone right now so we're good."

Lily felt a little intimidated by this piece of information. Who could ever compete with an ex-girlfriend like that? Lily sighed. That girl was a goddess!

James noticed Lily's reaction, "Hey, Lily! Are you comparing yourself and Crystal in your head?" he asked.

Lily shook her head, defensive. "No, I'm not!" she lied, avoiding his gaze.

James laughed. Lily was really a bad liar. He figured that every time Lily was lying she'd bite her lower lip in frustration and divert her gaze from him like a cute little toddler.

"Do you want to know the identity of the other girl?" he asked, trying to change the topic for her.

"Let me guess," Lily said, taking the bait. "Could it be Rachel Diggory?" she asked, confident.

"Yes. We went out last year." He answered.

"Who ended it?" she asked, curious.

"I did." He answered, "She was fooling around when we were still together. It's insulting, really." He admitted, embarrassed. "I was really serious about her and she took it all for granted" he sighed dramatically.

"She played you?" Lily asked, shocked.

"Well, I was really in love," James answered, "now that I think about it, I don't really know why… " he confessed, apologetic.

"Why did you keep her a secret from me?" Lily asked.

James chuckled, "I didn't keep her a secret, Lily. It was you who didn't keep up with the news. You were too preoccupied with Adam."

Lily's smile faltered a bit when she heard Adam's name. James immediately regretted mentioning him. "I didn't mean to bring him up," James said quickly.

Lily waved a hand to stop him, "Don't worry about it," she said, trying to smile. "I'm over it."

James looked at her seriously, "Are you sure?" he asked, concerned. "Do you want to talk about it? It's okay if you don't want to," he said quickly.

Lily sighed heavily, avoiding James' eyes. She's having a mental debate whether to tell him or not. It was really hard. She slowly took the menu, tapped her wand on a particularly large serving of cake and waited as it magically appeared before them.

James silently watched Lily as she started eating cake in silence. He knew this was a defensive reflex... she was buying herself some time to think about whether she'll spill or not. To be honest, he really wanted to talk to her about Adam. He wanted to know what happened to them and why Lily was being so quiet about it. It was unnatural not to talk about an ex.

"Hey, Lily." James called out suddenly. She looked up from the cake she was eating only to find him staring at her intensely. Lily suddenly felt self-conscious, she watched as James slowly moved towards her. Lily instinctively backed away but James reached for her hand quickly and pulled her back. He then touched Lily's face slowly and wiped her chin with his thumb. James chuckled at her surprised reaction, "You do realize you eat like a child?" he said, jokingly. "You have cake all over your mouth!" He was trying to lighten the mood for her sake.

Lily felt bad; she knew he changed the subject on purpose. She slowly bowed down her head, avoiding James' gaze. "It's not that I don't want to talk about it," she said quietly. She really wanted to tell someone what happened but she feared that when she does, they'd pity her and she didn't want that. "I just don't know how to start. I just can't begin…"

James pulled her in a hug. Lily felt shamefaced. She didn't want him to see her like this. "I'm sorry" she said softly. James chuckled and playfully patted Lily's head, "Don't worry about it." He said, smiling. "Do you honestly think I'd want to hear you talk about another guy on _**our**_ very first date?!" he demanded playfully. "You're my girlfriend now, you should only talk about _**ME**_!" he said in mock seriousness.

Lily looked up and saw him grinning at her. She smiled at him, touched by his sensitivity.

James patted her head again, "If you don't want to talk about it. I won't force you." He smiled gently at her. "You do know that I'm always here for you no matter what, right?"

Lily nodded, "Sorry for being such a mess. I feel bad." She said slowly.

James met her gaze, worried. "Why should you be?" he asked.

Lily smiled sadly, "I mean, my backstory with Adam makes you kind of like my rebound guy!" she said seriously.

James laughed out loud, amused. He pulled back from the hug, "Well, I don't want you to take advantage of that!" he said, chuckling again.

Lily turned beet red, "It came out wrong. I didn't mean it THAT way!" she said, embarrassed.

"I'm joking, Lily!" James said, laughing. "I'm not implying anything and I understood what you meant." He winked at her.

James ruffled her hair with his hand. Lily groaned, "Don't mess with my hair!" she pleaded, covering her head.

James laughed again. "Feel better?" He asked.

Lily nodded. "Thanks, James."

James slowly took her hand and entwined his fingers with hers. "Let's get out of here" he suggested.

Lily looked up, confused.

"Do you want to join me for a stroll?" he asked, smiling. "I'll make you forget him" he said grinning but with a hint of a promise.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Aren't you being a little too confident?" she questioned, laughing.

James tilted his head and called out on Remus. "We're taking off!"

Remus looked up and smiled, "You guys can go on ahead. We'll just finish our dinner and follow you." He said. He looked at Amanda, "or we can go, whatever you decide." He said.

Amanda smiled, "yeah. I'm still finishing my food. We'll follow you right after," she said.

James stood up and looked down on Lily, "care to join me?" he asked again.

Lily smiled, taking the offer. "Yes."

She stood up and held on to his arm. Remus and Amanda smiled giddily at them. James smiled. "Let's go then."

* * *

A/N: It's been YEARS. I KNOW! I grew up and everything and this story is still not finished! I'm sorry. I've written some drafts for the next chapters. I'll try to update hopefully after a month or sooner. I hope this chapter will compensate the very long break. Thank you for your continued support. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. **Please review**. **NO FLAMES**.


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